Hazard in the Glorious Enterprise
by Lamminator
Summary: Khan wasn't the only one to be awoken from his cryostasis chamber to do Admiral Marcus' dirty work...
1. Prologue

**A/N: **_Hello new and old friends! Yes, I've started another fict, but this one should go quick because I already have the whole thing written out. You can expect updates at least once a week._

_I don't know if this kind of plot has been written yet (I don't search ff. net so see if I'm 'copying' someone or not), but here's hoping it isn't...and the plot develops with the story, so it's not all in the open right away. I've had this idea in my head since I saw STID at the super Trekkie showing, the Wednesday before the Friday it came out in theaters. And, yes, I am a Trekkie (not a die-hard, but I'm well versed in Roddenberry's universe); there will be hints of that all through the story and I've done plenty of research on Khan, which will also be evident.  
_

_Oh, and I don't own anything you recognize (if I did, Benedict Cumberbatch would not leave my sight!)...I only own Lash (who I've pronouncing the name as if you said 'loss', not that it really matters), Nurse Davies, Officer Rockford, and a gaggle of unnamed security Officers that'll turn up in later chapters. I think that's everyone._

_Okay, now that's out of the way, ENJOY!_

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_Stardate 2258.45_

"Wakey wakey, Lash."

The sing-song voice did indeed wake the woman up. Blinking her eyes rapidly to adjust to the harsh fluorescent lights above her, Lash looked to her left, where the male voice originated from. She looked the man over; he was older, possibly in his early to mid sixties, with a receding hairline, and blue eyes. He wore some sort of uniform, but Lash, being asleep for a long time, didn't recognize it immediately.

Closing her eyes, she turned her head to look back at the ceiling. "Wha—" her throat being dry, she swallowed her saliva a few times and gently cleared her throat before trying to speak again. "What's the date?" Lash finally asked.

"It's twenty-two fifty-eight point forty-five." A woman to her right answered.

Lash turned her head to look at the woman; she was young, mid to late twenties, dark hair in a bob hair cut, and wide hazel eyes. A nurse.

Nodding once, Lash stared at the ceiling again. _Two hundred sixty-two years._ She thought with a sigh.

Lash noticed the man watching her. "Where am I and who are you?" She asked him.

The man smirked. "You are in Starfleet Academy's medical bay. In a secluded area, for obvious reasons." He motioned around him.

Lash began to sit up and the nurse came to her side to help her. With a grunt, Lash was sat fully upright. She looked around at her surroundings, taking in the beeping equipment, the smell of the med. bay, and the limited amount of people she saw walking by. She swung her legs over the side of the bed to face the man.

"My name is Admiral Alexander Marcus." He said.

Lash rose an eyebrow at him, wondering if that was supposed to mean something to her. "And where's my crew?" She finally asked.

"They're safe. All still asleep." He paused, dramatically, and Lash waited impatiently for him to continue. "Except one. We woke him two days ago."

Lash frowned, gripping the edge of the bed. "Who?" She asked through gritted teeth, not liking how this Admiral Marcus was withholding information from her.

"A man named Khan." The smirk was back as Lash tried not to show any surprise at the name. "I know you know him. The evidence is pretty obvious." Marcus held his hands behind his back as he walked around the bed, Lash keeping a close eye on him.

"So why wake us up and not the rest of our crew?" She asked, brow furrowed.

"I need Khan's mind to design and create weapons and warships. I've done my research on your crew. I know more about you than anyone alive." He stopped at the foot of her bed and rested his hands on it, leaning forwards. "I had you awoken because I need Khan to stay on track. I can't have him going off on his own when I have things for him to do."

"You're using me as blackmail, then?" Lash asked, glaring.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Marcus grinned, straightening up.

"And what makes you think I won't go to him and tell him what's going on?"

Marcus smirked evilly. "I have a job for you as well, Lash. If you deviate from your tasks, Khan suffers."

"Blackmail for each other then?" Lash rolled her eyes. "You're a piece of work." She sighed. _What's another few years?_ She thought, then slid from the bed to stand for the first time in two-hundred sixty-some years. "Alright. Fine. What meaningless projects do you have in mind for me?"

The nurse came over to her side to make sure Lash didn't fall over and checked her vitals with some contraption Lash wasn't familiar with yet.

"On the surface and to general knowledge, you will be my personal assistant. Mostly so I can keep an eye on you. But you will be doing infiltration, hacking, and all-around spying for me. You will be supplied with any equipment you need. You just have to let me know what's needed." He paused, watching Lash closely. "You will be given an apartment located on Starfleet premises and you will be monitored. Khan is being monitored as well, if you were curious."

Lash shooed the nurse away and moved to lean against the edge of the bed, crossing her arms under her breasts. "I guess I don't have much say in the matter, since you're blackmailing me to do your dirty work, while you have —" she stopped and checked herself before switching phrases. "While you have Khan under your thumb and our crew hidden away."

Marcus nodded smugly. "Oh, and to keep Khan from being arrested right away, I had to give him an alias. He is known as John Harrison, a Starfleet Commander. The same will have to go for you. Your name to the public will be Lieutenant Marla McGivers." He watched Lash nod. "A Starfleet officer will be along shortly to escort you to your apartment where you will stay until oh-eight-hundred tomorrow morning. At that time, you will report to my office with a list of things you need."

There was silence for a few moments, while Lash studied the Admiral.

"Does Khan know that _I_ have been awoken?" She finally asked.

"He knows someone from his crew has been awoken. He doesn't know it was you specifically." Marcus nodded once, then turned to leave the area. Right before he was out of sight, he turned back. "Oh, Nurse Davies here will supply you with clothes and keep you company until Officer Rockford can take you to your apartment." With another smug smirk, he turned and left.

Lash made sure Marcus was gone before she hopped back up onto the bed and rested her elbows on her knees. She rubbed her hands over her face, breathing deeply. Hearing the nurse approach, she sat up, straightening her back, and put her hands on her knees.

"I have some regulation Starfleet uniforms for you to wear, so you blend in, you know?" Nurse Davies handed her a stack of clothes.

With a nod, Lash took the clothes and set them on the bed next to her. Davies wandered to the other side of the bed to dig in some drawers across the room. Lash picked up the red cloth on top and held it up. "Oh, hell no." She muttered. Lowering it, she looked at the nurse. "Nurse Davies. I cannot wear this. I need trousers or I'm wearing this." She shook the Academy dress out towards the nurse.

"But it's regulation." The nurse explained.

"Damn your regulations!" Lash growled tossing down the garment. "There is no way in HELL I'm going to be running around in a mini-skirt."

Davies, now visibly rattled, nodded and took the dress. She left the area with speed to go find trousers and a shirt for Lash. After she left, Lash couldn't help but smile to herself. If she couldn't attack Marcus for fear of something happening to Khan, she could instill dread into his minions.

By the time Davies came back, Lash had already mentally compiled half a list of equipment she would need. The nurse cautiously handed Lash a new pile of clothes, black and dark gray in color. Lash nodded her thanks and the nurse went about tidying up the counter. Picking up the black article of clothing on top, Lash sighed in relief as a black, long-sleeved, crew-necked shirt unfolded. Setting the shirt in her lap, she grabbed the edge of her plain white T-shirt. She looked back over her shoulder to make sure the nurse was otherwise occupied (she was never comfortable undressing in front of others) before quickly pealing the T off and replacing it with the black crew neck. Once on, she smoothed the shirt down and noticed a very subtle Starfleet insignia on the left chest. Rolling her eyes, she picked up the dark gray material and shook them out. With another sigh of relief, she jumped off the edge of the bed, again, and with another look over at the nurse, removed her cargo pants and stepped into the trousers. After pulling them up and fastening them, she turned towards the nurse.

"Nurse Davies, can I acquire some sort of map and blueprints for Starfleet Academy and Headquarters? Before the Officer comes would be preferable." Lash asked, holding her hands clasped in front of her.

"Uh, yes, ma'am." The nurse fumbled with some PADDs on the counter, shuffling them around. She eventually pulled a PADD from a drawer and, after tapping the screen a few times, she held the tablet out to Lash.

"Thank you." Lash said, taking the PADD and looking at the zoomed out map. With a few taps of her own, she was able to navigate through the system and find Marcus' office. "Nurse, do you happen to have any sort of chain around, as well?" Lash looked up from the PADD.

Davies turned back to her counter and dug through some more drawers. In the third drawer down on her left-hand side, she pulled out a medium sized ball chain. She handed the chain over to Lash.

Thanking the nurse again, Lash adjusted the size of the chain slightly, breaking it at the desired length. When the nurse turned around again, Lash slid her ring off of her finger and onto the chain. She hooked it around her neck and tucked it under the crew-neck. It reached down to the middle of her ample breasts. Lash didn't want to risk suspicion with the ring on her finger…nor did she want to accidentally lose it.

A few minutes later, Officer Rockford walked into the closed off area and over to the women. He glanced from Nurse Davies to Lash, who he looked from head to toe.

"Lieutenant McGivers?" He asked. Once he received an affirmative nod from Lash, he continued. "I'm Officer Rockford. I'll be taking you to your apartment."

With a swift nod, Lash collected her previously worn clothes and the PADD Davies had given her. She turned back to Rockford and he lead her out of the cordoned off area and out of the medical bay. While they walked the corridors and outdoor walkways, Lash kept referring back to the PADD, mentally making notes, not only for Marcus, but her sake as well. The blueprints would be used for more than just finding her way around…she would be able to access hidden passages and hiding spots if needs be.

Khan may have been an incredibly intelligent man, but the rest of the crew were not imbeciles, either. All seventy-three of them were genetically altered as "supermen" in 1993, meaning they had superior strength, healing, and mental abilities.

Lash would not let her mind deteriorate. Especially if she had to keep up with Khan.

Upon reaching one of the highest levels of apartments across from Starfleet Headquarters, Rockford led Lash about halfway down the hall before handing her a keycard and pointing to the door.

"Your apartment." He unnecessarily stated. "I will be here at oh-seven forty-five to take you to Admiral Marcus."

"That won't be necessary, Officer. I can find my way just fine." Lash replied with a false smile.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes. Thank you." She stared him down until he nodded and headed back towards the turbo lift. With a silent scoff, Lash turned towards the door and slid her keycard over the pad. The door slid to the left with a soft hiss.

Lash stepped through the door, hearing it hiss closed behind her. Standing still, she looked around her. To her left was a king-sized bed with metallic gray sheets. Along the protruding wall to her immediate left was a closet. To the right was a door that she assumed led to a bathroom (she'd investigate at another time). Next to the door was a large desk and next to that was a large bookshelf filled with a variety of books. Straight across from her were glass, floor to ceiling windows; her view was of Starfleet HQ. The floor was covered in a light gray carpet.

With a sigh, Lash walked further into the room, tossing her clothes onto the bed, then setting the PADD on the desk. She walked over to the windows and wrapped her arms around her body, staring out over Starfleet.

"Where are you, Khan?" She whispered.

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**A/N: **_Ta-da! Prologue done! Lemme know what you think...just remember I'm a sensitive person and don't take nasty flaming well. Polite corrections will be acceptable...along with praise! LOL._

_In case you're wondering, the Stardate 2258.45 would be February 14, 2258 (about a year before the events of the movie)._

_And brownie points to anyone who can tell me where I got the title from and extra super Trekkie points if you can tell me why. :P Also Trekkie points if you know where I got the name Lieutenant Marla McGivers from..._

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Here Swallow'd Up in Endless Misery

**A/N:**_I meant to update this a few days ago, but this week got real crazy, real fast...very spontaneous.  
There might be a sentence or two that sound odd...I'm tired. I tried my best to make them sound intelligible, but after re-reading the same sentence for ten minutes, I just went with it._

___But anywho, here's another chapter. _Enjoy!

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_Stardate 2259.55_

It had been one year and ten days since Khan and Lash were awakened. Khan was still illusive to Lash, the woman always being one step behind him. While Lash was doing Admiral Marcus' dirty work, she was doing her own work secretly on the side; she was determined more than ever to find Khan. She knew what he was working on and knew where to find him, but in order to go after him, she would have to defy Marcus and in doing so could endanger Khan himself, so she had to stay put at Starfleet Headquarters and hope he came to her.

Lash was currently sitting on her bed in her apartment, tinkering with a remote controlled device, when one of her numerous monitors alerted her to something important. It was not, however, the monitor she had programmed to search for Khan, so she languidly unfolded her legs and set the device on the bed before getting up and wandering over to her desk to shut off the alarm. This particular monitor was set up to keep an eye on the USS Enterprise, Starfleet's newest ship, captained by Starfleet's youngest Captain, James T. Kirk. Marcus wanted her to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the vessel and ordered her to study it intensely, inside and out. She didn't know why, but it only took her less than a day to memorize every detail of the ship.

The monitor had pinged her a report that had just been filed. It had given her two contradicting reports of the last supposed 'observation' mission to Nibiru. Captain Kirk reported one thing, while his First Officer, a Commander Spock, reported another. The monitor pinged again with another alert: Captain Kirk was no longer Captain of the Enterprise. He was being demoted to First Officer and Admiral Christopher Pike (the original Captain) was given control of the ship again.

Lash frowned as she read through all of the reports. She leaned back in the desk chair when she finished and swiveled it to look out of the window towards HQ.

She was watching a bird, at some distance away, fly from one side of the sky to the other when her personal communicator dinged. Sighing, she reached towards the desk and, after lifting a few PADDs, she located the communicator and flipped it open.

"Lieutenant McGivers." She answered.

"Lash, get down to my office."

The communication shut off. With a growl, Lash closed her communicator and shoved it in her trouser pocket. Getting up from her chair, she made her way to the door. She slipped on her boots, then turned to grab the PADD sitting on the bookshelf.

There was only one person who could be so rude to her and get away with it. There was only one person who called her by her real name.

Admiral Alexander Marcus.

Grabbing her keycard and shoving it in her other trouser pocket, she left her apartment and made her way across Starfleet's campus to Marcus' spacious office. She was able to walk in without flashing any sort of identification. After a year of 'working' for him, everyone knew she was cleared to enter.

As she rounded the corner, she saw Marcus sitting at his impressive desk. He motioned her over.

"Sir?" She asked, keeping up appearances.

"Lieutenant." He stood from his desk to lean over it as she approached. Lash saw him take a look around, to note where his guards were before looking back at her and lowering his voice. "Have you gotten the most recent reports involving the Enterprise?" He asked her.

"Yes. Moments before you summoned me." She sneered.

He nodded, not bothered by her resentment. "I want you to keep an eye on Kirk. He's young and stupid at times. Let me know if he does anything incredibly stupid."

"I'm babysitting from a distance. Great." She muttered, barely moving her lips.

"You could see it that way, sure. He'll probably be hanging around a dive bar. Likes to drown his sorrows in whiskey." Marcus said, sitting back in his chair, signaling that the conversation was over.

"Is that all, sir?" Lash asked with false politeness.

"Yes, Lieutenant. That'll be all."

With a stiff nod, Lash spun on her heel and left Marcus' office. On her way out, she pretended to type something onto her PADD.

Lash speed walked back to her apartment to change. She'd stick out like a sore thumb in her Starfleet grays. She needed to blend in if she was going to be tailing Kirk. When she made it back to her apartment, she kicked off her boots and stripped down before opening her closet and pulling out a pair of dark jeans, a dark green v-neck T-shirt, a beat-up, brown leather jacket, and a dark blue cap. She threw the selected clothes onto her bed and closed the closet. Reaching up, Lash released her hair from its tight bun and let it tumble down her back. She ran her fingers through her long, chocolate-colored waves before reaching for her clothes and putting them on. She put the cap on last, leaving her hair down, but tucking it behind her ears. Grabbing her communicator out of her forgotten trouser pocket, she shoved it in her jeans pocket. She then grabbed a small PADD of her own design and crafting (smaller than the normal PADDs in use) and shoved it in an inner jacket pocket as she ran out of the door and towards the lift.

Once in the lift, she pulled out the PADD and searched for Kirk's location. Within seconds she found him. Marcus was right about one thing: Kirk was evidently fond of the drink. He was located in a bar not far from Starfleet Academy. Glancing briefly at the shortest route to the bar, Lash put the PADD back in her pocket. As soon as she did so, the lift doors hissed open and she walked as fast as she could to Kirk's location without seeming suspicious.

When she reached the dive, Lash casually walked in and took a seat at a table in a dark corner of the bar. With her back to the wall, she surveyed the scene. People were littered throughout the establishment; not many were at the bar, but plenty were roaming around the tables. It was still early in the evening, yet there were already a few drunkards trying to navigate their way to and from the bar. She found Kirk easily enough, sitting at the bar and kicking back drink after drink.

A waitress in a jeans mini-skirt and a quite revealing white tank top approached Lash.

"What can I get ya, hun?" She asked around a mouthful of pink bubble gum.

Lash rose an eyebrow at the walking cliché of a waitress. "Water." She replied, gruffing her voice a bit, then seeing the confused look on the waitress' face she added: "For now."

The waitress nodded, then walked away.

Lash rolled her eyes before slouching in her chair and adjusting the brim of her cap. She observed Kirk, mentally keeping track of how many drinks he knocked back.

After a few minutes of watching the man steadily drink himself into oblivion, Lash saw the door to the dive bar open. Admiral Pike stood tall in the doorway and glanced around before heading straight towards Kirk with a determined, hobbling gait.

Lash hunched her shoulders and brought her cap down lower, trying to avoid being seen by the Admiral and the inevitable confrontation that would follow.

The two were engaged in conversation, with Lash keeping her eyes on them, when her PADD pinged. She was just about to reach into her pocket when the waitress returned and placed a dirty glass with some not-so-clear water in it on the table in front of her. Trying not to look too disgusted, Lash thanked her and the girl left.

_Sure took a while to get some damn dirty water._ Lash thought as she took her PADD out of her pocket and held it under the table, out of eye sight. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before tilting her head down slightly to read the report. It was an emergency message delivered to Starfleet's Admirals: Bombing at the Kelvin Archives in London, England.

Lash sat up straighter. She knew that the building wasn't just Starfleet archives. Down bellow were levels of some of the highest clearances and top secret weapons projects: Section 31.

Lash had a feeling in her gut. She had to know for sure.

Looking up, she glanced at Kirk and Pike once more and, seeing Kirk knock back yet another drink and Pike check his communicator, she figured she could get out of the bar before they even moved. She got up from her chair, surreptitiously sliding her PADD back into her pocket as she made her way to the door...not even bothering to tip for the disgusting glass of water.

Once she hit the street, Lash took off at a run back towards Starfleet HQ and Marcus' office. She glanced behind herself once or twice to make sure she wasn't seen fleeing by Pike or Kirk.

She reached Marcus in record time, bursting into his office, not caring if there were others inside or not. Recovering her wits, she looked around before slowing and approaching the man standing behind his desk, looking thoroughly put out by her intrusion.

"Was it him?" She asked, leaning on the edge of his desk. She knew she didn't have to specify who.

"Not sure." Marcus grumbled through gritted teeth.

"Bullshit." Lash snapped, very tempted to bang her fist on his desk, knowing it would leave a dent.

Marcus' PADD pinged at the same moment Lash's did. Lash ignored hers as she glared at Marcus, waiting for him to read whatever he received. She could read it later. When he did, Lash stood up straight and folded her arms over her chest. After Marcus completed his reading, he rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking up at Lash.

"It was him." He eventually said, quietly.

Lash dropped her arms to her side and turned to start leaving the office. Marcus stopped her.

"If you go after him, you know his life is in jeopardy." He paused. "Yours could be too, if you're not careful."

Lash spun back to face Marcus. "I'm fully aware of the repercussions, _Admiral_." She spat his title at him. "You just love to be oh-so-helpful in reminding me every time I manage to track him." She turned and left the office, fuming.

Feeling acrimonious, Lash stomped back to her apartment. Upon entering her rooms, she ripped the cap off of her head and flung it as hard as she could at the wall. She then tore off her jacket and swung it down onto the bed. Taking off her boots, she threw them at the closet door, putting holes through it. Looking for something else to destroy, she turned to her bookshelf and took books down, throwing them across the room, trying to create as much damage as possible. She knew it wouldn't help, but she would be placed under arrest on murder charges if she took her anger out on Marcus...or any other life form.

She turned to her desk, ready to destroy her year's worth of work, but stopped herself just as she was reaching for the closest monitor.

_Stop, Lash! You break ANYTHING on this desk, you will forever be stuck behind him!_ She thought. _You need this stuff to keep looking for him._

Taking a few steps back and raising her hands as if placating the equipment, Lash sat heavily on the edge of her bed, breathing raggedly. Running a hand through her hair, she reached over to her jacket and pulled out the PADD. She read the message Marcus had received. It was from a Starfleet Officer named Thomas Harewood saying that John Harrison had bribed him to blow up the archives. He offered the Officer a way to cure his terminally ill daughter if he did something for Harrison in return...the explosion.

Lash set the PADD on the bed and scrubbed her hands over her face with a growl. She needed to throw herself into her work or she was going to do something she would regret. Shucking her green shirt and jeans, she pulled her black Starfleet crew neck and trousers back on; the long sleeves kept her warm in her slightly cool apartment and she was more comfortable in the trousers. She then moved over to her desk chair and plopped down in it. Tying her hair up into a low ponytail, she stared at the monitors, ready to dig through anything she could get her hands on to figure out a reason for Khan's obviously planned explosion.

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**A/N:**_Welp...what'd ya think? Please review?_

_Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, and favored! I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I get those e-mails :-P_


	3. Desperate Revenge, and Battel Dangerous

**A/N:** _I didn't edit this one as thoroughly as I did the previous two, so if there's any really big screw ups, please kindly let me know and I'll fix it...  
Why did I rush the editing procccess, you ask? Well, I was a bit busy today and I really wanted to get this posted because it IS Benedict's birthday (I still have half an hour here in the US...where I live, anyway)! Yea!_

_That reminds me, it looks like I'll be able to update on Fridays since I feel that's a day that's not so busy for me...so y'all can look forward to that. LOL._

_Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Less than an hour later, Lash had a fairly good idea of why Khan set a bomb to go off in the Archives: revenge. If she weren't stuck under lock and key, so-to-speak, she would have gone off to something like that as well.

One of Lash's monitor's pinged and she looked up. There was a message sent to all senior command of all the vessels in the Federation calling them to an immediate, emergency meeting to discuss the bombing and plan the next step.

Lash looked out of her window towards HQ, her brow furrowed. "What do you have planned?" She muttered to herself as she turned back to her monitors.

A few minutes later, as she was digging for some more information on Thomas Harewood, hoping she could get some answers from that train of thought, she saw a flash out light out of the corner of her eye. Whipping her head towards her window, she saw a ship firing rounds into the room she knew was where the Captains' meeting was being held. Standing, she went over to the window, frowning, before her illusive answers filed into her brain. Eyes widening, she quickly grabbed her boots and put them on, then sprinted out of her room and down the apartment complex.

It was Khan. It _had_ to be Khan. From what Lash could, tell revenge was on his mind and with his mind being so sharp, he would have known the steps Starfleet would take when an emergency surfaced: All Captains and First Officers gathered. He was going to kill as many birds with one stone as possible.

Sprinting as hard as she could, Lash made her way across Starfleet property to HQ and ran to the top floors. Through the windows, she could see the back of a small ship firing into the conference room. She stopped as she saw rounds heading towards the ship. Frowning, she saw someone (squinting, she could make out the form of James Kirk) firing a gun, then made her way towards him when he stopped firing.

As she rounded the last corner, she watched as Kirk threw the gun towards the ship. Lash noticed the gun was attached to a tether. Following the line, she realized Kirk was poorly attempting to bring down the ship with an emergency fire hose attached to the wall. As she watched the ship suck up the gun and clog the intake, the hose became taught and eventually pulled the whole emergency system out of the wall, which also got sucked up in the intake, causing it to choke and fail.

Heart in her throat, Lash watched the ship go into a tailspin. From her spot, she could just barely make out the broad-shouldered form of Khan in the pilot's seat. With a gasp she could only feel, since it was still so loud from the damage and the ship, she stared as, while still in the tailspin, Khan transported out of the ship. She was disappointed; once again, she was one step behind him.

Confusion consumed her. How could he possibly transport out of there? She needed to get back to her apartment to figure this out...and fast before someone saw her hanging around. She turned to head to the nearest flight of stairs.

"Hey!" She heard from behind her.

Stopping, she silently cursed, then spun around slapping a look of surprise, confusion, and worry on her face and looked for whoever called out to her. She saw that it was a member of the security team.

"We need some help over here." He called to her.

"I'm not trained." She called back, trying to find a feasible excuse to get the hell out of there so she could research.

"You can help move people." He turned and went to direct someone else.

With a huff, Lash walked back towards the damaged conference room, then carefully schooled her features as she encountered people.

Walking as fast as she could, she helped the injured stand and get out of the more damaged areas. If they couldn't stand for whatever reason, she would drag them, using only about half of her strength. Marcus warned her on her first full day awake that she shouldn't use her physical strength to the maximum. It would raise suspicion that Marcus didn't want.

Speak of the devil...

Lash had helped a woman sit down against a wall away from harm and was wiping her hands on her now ruined trousers when she saw Marcus limp around the corner of the conference room. He spotted her immediately and frowned; he hobbled over to her.

"What are you doing here?" He growled lowly at her as he grabbed her upper arm. He directed them away from the crowd of people.

"You know why." She growled back, trying to snag her arm out of Marcus' tight grip.

They stopped at the top of the stairwell. "Get back to your apartment. I want to know how he transported out of here and where he went." He instructed her as he finally released her arm, only to shove her towards the stairs.

Turning around and glaring at the Admiral, Lash watched him turn and hobble back to the wreckage. Once he was out of sight, she ran down the stairs and back to her apartment.

In her apartment, Lash immediately went to her PADDs and monitors. She had one monitor search for anything on Khan, another she searched for new transport capabilities, and one other she set up to keep an eye on Marcus' personal and Starfleet messages. She let the systems do their work while she stripped down; she needed to clear her head and the only way, currently, that she could do that was with a cooling shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Lash stepped out of her shower and dressed in loose night clothes. She then planted herself in front of her monitors, ready to stay there the whole night, until they picked up something. She had gotten enough sleep in the past two hundred years. She could go one night without it.

It was mid-morning the next day when Lash got up from her chair to get a glass of water. When she returned, two of her monitors pinged. The more pressing of the two was a transcript of a communication between Kirk and someone her systems recognized as Commander Spock. It read:

_Kirk: Yeah._

_Spock: Commander. Mr. Scott has found something in the wreckage of Harrison's ship. He has asked to see us right away._

Lash frowned, then picked up one of her PADDs and set it to search for Mr. Scott in relation to Kirk and Spock. While the PADD searched, she looked at the other monitor that pinged. It found an equation for trans-warp beam capabilities...and a Mr. Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott came up with the equation. He was also linked to Kirk and Spock via the USS Enterprise.

Eyes widening, Lash quickly came to the conclusion that Khan used Mr. Scott's trans-warp equation to vessel or planet hop. Which vessel or planet he went to, she didn't know...at the moment. She set another PADD to search and find where Khan had jumped to. She hoped she could at least locate the device that Khan had used and track him from there.

Once the PADD was set up, Lash quickly rummaged through her closet to find a clean pair of gray trousers and a black, crew-neck Starfleet shirt. After she hastily put the clothing on, she wound her hair up into a tight bun, grabbed the searching PADD, and ran out of her apartment. She had to find this Mr. Scott and ask him a few questions.

On her way down the turbo lift, she set another search to look for Kirk's current location. If she found Kirk, she'd find Scott. It was only logical. Her PADD pinged, informing her that it found Kirk. He had stopped outside the building to Marcus' office. The turbo lift stopped and Lash ran out. She headed for Marcus' office, every once in a while looking down at the PADD to make sure Kirk didn't go anywhere.

Lash was just about to run up the stairs that would lead her to the office when she looked at the tablet. It showed that Kirk was moving...and he was moving towards Marcus. Thinking quick, Lash changed her direction and ran around the building to a back door. The door lead to a passage that Marcus had built out of paranoia; it led from the side of the wall behind his desk to the outside of the building. He had it so that in some rare instance he ever felt threatened, he could make a quick escape.

She came to the hidden door in the office and popped it open a sliver. Enough so she could hear what was being said beyond. She heard Marcus talking to his conference table full of people. Looking down at her PADD once again, Lash saw that Kirk was running into the office at that moment. Holding the PADD down, she listened carefully for Kirk to announce himself.

"Sir, he's not on Earth. He's on Kronos, sir." Kirk said, catching his breath. "I request my position to be reinstated and permission to go after him, sir."

Lash frowned. _Kronos? Why Kronos?_ The more she thought, the more she missed of their conversation. _Of course! Try to start a war with the Klingons. If Khan succeeded in that, a war would attempt to kill off most of Starfleet...and they would be distracted enough to leave Khan alone to get our crew and get as far away from here as possible._ Lash tuned back into the conversation when Marcus revealed Section 31 to Kirk. They spoke briefly of Pike's death the previous day before Marcus gave the okay to track down Khan. He told Kirk to "take him out and haul ass". This made Lash irate. She waited a few moments for Kirk to walk out of the office, then she opened the door wider, stepped through it, and slammed it shut. She stomped around the corner to see Marcus, standing behind his desk, watching her with mild shock before he glared at her.

"I'm going after him." She said, clenching her fists so tight, she could feel her nails break through the skin of her palm on one hand and the PADD starting to give way in the other.

"Yeah, I figured you would." Marcus said casually, sitting back in his chair. "That's why I'm transferring," he used air quotes around 'transferring', "you onto the Enterprise."

Lash stood in front of the desk in shock. "What?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow, sensing an ulterior motive behind him agreeing so easily.

Marcus grinned like the cat that ate the canary. "You'll get to see Khan...you just have to do something for me while you're being transported to him." He explained. "Kirk's not going to kill him; he'll follow Starfleet regulation. He's too soft, too compassionate, so don't worry about that."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Lash asked, relaxing her stance slightly.

"Cripple the Enterprise close to Kronos." He explained briefly.

Lash stared at him for several seconds, not entirely understanding why. Then she thought of what Khan was probably planning. "You want to start a war with the Klingons?" she said, aghast.

"I need to test out my new ship somehow. Which Khan designed for me, by the way." He smirked. "Might as well use the Enterprise as bait."

Lash could not believe what she was hearing. Almost. This was Marcus. The man who woke her and Khan up from centuries of sleep to blackmail them into doing his dirty work.

"I know you have a stash of costumes in your apartment. Grab a red operations shirt and whatever else you want to take along, then head to the shuttle bay. Get on one of the shuttles heading to the station and get on the Enterprise." Marcus leaned forward and tapped a few places on his screen as he continued. "I've just sent your transfer papers. You'll have no problem getting on board." He leaned back to look at Lash. "When you know the ship is close enough to Kronos to reach by shuttle, but still be unnoticeable to the Klingons, knock it out of warp. I've made you study that ship for a reason and I know you can disable it."

"Well, I would say thank you, but we both know I really won't mean it." Lash glanced down at her PADD as it pinged, telling her it finished trying to locate Khan...not that she needed the information anymore. "Anything else, sir?" She asked sarcastically.

Marcus was silent a moment as he watched the woman in front of him closely. "Those torpedoes I'm giving to Kirk? Khan developed them. There are exactly seventy-one of them." Marcus steepled his fingers in front of his face as he witnessed Lash connect the dots.

Lash gasped. "Our crew." She whispered, eyes wide and horrified. "But how...?"

Marcus nodded. "Khan was trying to smuggle them out from under my nose, hiding them in the torpedoes and hoping he could get them on a ship and safely into space. I found them and I will use them against him—you—if I have to."

_Blackmail._ Lash thought. _Curse the little shit who thought of it!_

She sighed. "Fine. I'll do it." She turned to leave the office (and Marcus) behind.

"One more thing, Lash." Marcus sneered at her back. Lash paused as she listened. "If you manage to come back alive, just remember: there will be consequences for aligning yourself with him."

Lash looked back over her shoulder and curled her lip in disgust. "Of course." She snarled, and walked out of the office.

* * *

**A/N:** _Rut row, Shaggy!  
I never said Lash was 'good'. She gets to be devilish in her own ways, too...even if she is doing it because of Marcus; she'll get to do things her way, though._**  
**

_If you could leave a [kind] review, that'd be awesome._

_Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favored, and alerted!_


	4. Destruction to the Rest: This Pause Betw

**A/N: **_Apologies for my day delay...I got sucked into watching _Supernatural_ yesterday and couldn't concentrate on editing this (I'm almost through season 1 and I'm still not sure if I like the show or just the Winchester brothers)._

_I'm also slightly rushing this posting because we're celelbrating our pup's first adoption day! We rescued her last year, several months after my first dog passed, and I'm glad we did. She's a pip!_

_Anyway, enough of my gushing...here's the chapter. Enjoy! Oh, the whole title of the chapter didn't fit in the box for some reason, so the whole title is _"Destruction to the Rest: This Pause Between".

* * *

Back in her apartment, Lash retrieved the red Starfleet shirt from the back of her closet and put it on over the crew neck; she grabbed the blue and gold shirts as well, just in case. She grabbed an extra pairs of trousers and one more long-sleeved, crew neck shirt. She shoved all of her clothes (along with some underwear, naturally) into a small duffle bag she kept at the bottom of her closet. She grabbed a gray-blue jumpsuit with red in the triangles on the shoulders and put it on over her 'uniform'. She zipped up her boots and looked around.

Lash debated whether to erase the memories of her monitors and PADDs, but didn't bother. If she was caught with Khan, it wouldn't matter if there was more evidence to condemn her. Marcus would obviously be no help if she were caught, either.

Grabbing the PADD of her creation and her duffle, Lash walked out of her apartment and headed to the Starfleet shuttle bay.

She had no trouble getting on board a shuttle headed for the space station. Marcus was good on his word, there, anyway. Once on the shuttle, it was only a short ride to the station. Once docked and cleared to exit, she made her way through the station until she found the correct docking bay for the USS Enterprise. Again, getting on board was no problem. Now, she had to make herself scarce...and find a place to hide her duffle. She decided to head down to engineering, thinking she could easily find a place to hide out in. It didn't matter if the space was the size of a cubby hole, she wouldn't be using it that long.

On her way to the nearest turbo lift, Lash met up with Nurse Davies. She wasn't expecting to ever see the nurse again after waking up last year. She was wearing a blue dress and a medical insignia on her left chest. The two stepped into the turbo lift together. Luckily, they were the only two.

"Hello again, Nurse Davies." Lash grinned as soon as the doors closed and pressed a button for the medical bay.

"Lash...er, Lieutenant McGivers." The nurse stumbled.

"I think 'Lash' will be fine from now on." The woman replied. Davies nodded. "Did Marcus assign you on here to keep an eye on me?"

"No. Well, yes, but I don't really think I'll have to." Davies replied. "I mean, you want to see Khan, so you'll do what Marcus wants. Right?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Lash grumbled as she unzipped the jumpsuit and quickly took it off. She shoved it into her duffle. "Could you do me a favor and store this somewhere for me?"

"Sure." Davies knew not to ask questions when it came to this woman.

"Thank you." Lash replied as the lift doors opened to the medical bay. "See you later, Nurse Davies." She said with a smile as the nurse stepped out.

Surprised at the genuine tone in the other woman's voice, Davies nodded and continued on her way.

As soon as the door closed, the smile left Lash's face. She pressed the button for the engineering levels. She wanted to at least get a look at the warp core before the ship departed. (She had already come to the conclusion that slightly damaging the core would be the best course of action.)

She walked around the decks, holding onto her PADD, and making it look like she was doing work, when what she was really doing was scanning for the best place to sabotage. She had gotten to the warp core when she felt the ship leave the moorings.

They were off. Shortly, the Enterprise was thrown into warp and about a minute later, Kirk sent a ship-wide message.

"_Attention crew of the Enterprise: as most of you know, Christopher Pike, former Captain of this ship and our friend, is dead. The man who killed him has fled our system and is hiding out on the Klingon home-world, somewhere he believes we are unwilling to go. We are on our way there now. Per Admiral Marcus, it is essential that our presence goes undetected. Tensions between the Federation and the Klingon Empire are high and any propagations could lead to an all-out war."_ There was a long pause and Lash wondered if he was debating with himself. _"I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on the surface of Kronos, where we will capture the fugitive John Harrison and return him to Earth so he can face judgment for his actions."_ Another, shorter, pause. _"Alright. Let's go get this son of a bitch. Kirk out."_

Again, Marcus was right. Kirk wasn't going to kill Khan.

Lash grinned to herself as she walked around the warp core area. She watched her screen, looking for any way she could bring the Enterprise out of warp without completely damaging the ship.

The one time she glanced higher up the core, thinking there might be something on the second level, when she noticed someone who looked a bit familiar. She raised her PADD to do a facial scan, all while looking around to make sure she wasn't drawing attention to herself. When the scan finished, she glanced at the screen in mild surprise before looking up to the woman again.

_Wonder if Marcus knows his daughter's on board._ Lash grinned to herself. _This could be fun after all._

Storing the new information away, Lash continued her search on the core. She was about to move up to the second level when she found something: the coolant tanks. A small crack in the container would allow coolant to leak out and would eventually knock the ship out of warp; if the core can't be cooled, the possibility of the ship exploding increases. There are, however, safety defaults the ship puts into effect so explosion doesn't happen. Dropping out of warp is one of those default settings.

Her plan fully developed in her mind, Lash now had to wait until the Enterprise was close enough to Kronos. It would take several minutes for the ship to drop out of warp, though, so she went off to find somewhere to sit down and keep an eye on the distance. Bringing up a schematic of the ship on her PADD, she noticed that she wasn't very far from the cantina. Felling a tad bit dehydrated anyway, Lash made her way to it, under the pretense of getting a drink of water.

Once in the cantina, her water in hand, Lash set herself up at a table in the corner, away from everyone else. She watched the schematic, biding her time, waiting for just the right moment to make her move. No one bothered her while she waited.

When Lash felt like the ship was getting close to a good distance away from Kronos, she quietly got up from the table, discarded what remained of her water, and began her trek back down to engineering. On her way, she looked up who was currently in charge on the level. Making note of the name, she lowered the PADD and walked. As she approached where she needed to be, she saw an Officer checking the core. With a silent curse (she hoped no one would be around), she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning around, looking slightly annoyed at being interrupted in his work.

"Mr. Chekov was looking for you." She replied, confidently.

"Really? Why?" He looked suspicious.

"Didn't say." She shrugged a shoulder.

With a huff, the Officer left. Lash hoped he wouldn't remember her and wouldn't come back to this area for a while.

Lash looked to make sure she was the only one around before she stepped closer to the coolant pipes. Miraculously, she found a tool that had been left behind by the Officer. She didn't know what it was or what it was really for, but she didn't care; it had a sharp point and would do the job. Taking one more look around, Lash tucked her PADD into the back of her trousers, and stepped up to the pipes, reaching around behind them. Being careful not to touch the actual pipe, Lash jabbed a few holes in the back of it. She reached up to another pipe and punched a few more holes. She squatted down and found yet another pipe to easily punch holes in; better safe than sorry. Seeing that her job was complete, Lash hid the tool before standing and walking away.

She no longer needed her PADD, so instead of leaving it somewhere for someone to find, she quickly made her way to the med. bay, where she knew Nurse Davies was being kept busy. Lash hopped in the turbo lift and pressed the correct button. When it stopped, she stepped out into the bustling medical facility. She saw a few people already taking up residence in beds, but none looked serious; a minor burn here, a broken finger there. She stood off to the side and looked around for Davies. Not seeing the younger woman, she stopped a passing nurse.

"Excuse me. Do you know where Nurse Davies is?" She asked, still looking around.

"Oh, yes. She's with a patient over there, but should finish up shortly." The nurse replied, pointing in the proper direction.

"Thank you." Lash grinned and walked over to patiently (on the outside, anyway) wait for Davies to finish.

When the nurse finished with her patient, saying 'I'll be right back with your medication', she walked around the bed and saw Lash standing off to the side. Startled, she walked over to the much older woman.

"Something I can help you with?" She inquired.

Lash nodded. "Could you put this in my duffle, please? I won't need it." She pulled her PADD from out of the back of her trousers and handed it to the nurse.

"You did it, then?" The nurse lowered her voice, eyes wide.

"Did what?" Lash smirked as she turned and walked away from Davies and out of the med. bay.

Lash re-entered the turbo lift and hit the button to return down to engineering. She wanted to hide down where she could keep an eye on her 'project', make sure no one came around too soon to fix the problem. She traveled one level up and across the way; a perfect spot to keep an eye on the pipes. Up there, she also found a break in the machinery where she could tuck her body in and remain unseen by anyone walking by.

Lash had just gotten comfortable when the Enterprise finally fell out of warp and jostled her about, making her smack her head into some metal tubing. Wincing in pain, she brought a hand to her forehead, where she discovered a cut above her right eyebrow. With a growl, she wiped the blood away with the sleeve of her shirt. _It's red anyway_. She thought...and she would be taking it off before long. She wasn't too worried about the cut. It felt shallow enough that it would heal completely within a few hours.

She watched the people in engineering run around frantically, trying to figure out what happened. Lash grinned and mentally congratulated herself on causing chaos. Khan would be proud. She sighed, hoping she would see him soon.

It was maybe another ten minutes before Kirk finally decided to do something. She heard an announcement asking for the shuttle crews to have a shuttle ready for Kirk. At this point, Lash wished she hadn't been so hasty in getting rid of her PADD, then she could keep an eye on Kirk and know when he returned...with Khan. Huffing, she settled back and watched the circus going on below.

Another ten minutes passed before anything of importance was heard. It happened to be a ship-wide message directed at "Harrison". It seemed they found him.

"_Attention John Harrison. This is Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS Enterprise. A shuttle of highly trained Officers is on its way to your location. If you do not surrender to them immediately, I will unleash the entire payload of advanced long-range torpedoes currently locked onto your location. You have two minutes to confirm your compliance. Refusal to do so will result in your obliteration. If you test me, you will fail."_

_Pfft. Captain._ Lash thought, rolling her eyes. She wasn't too worried about Sulu's threat. She knew Khan wouldn't risk the safety of their crew. He would know that those seventy-one torpedoes contained the cryo-tubes.

Lash peeked out of her hiding spot before slowly unfurling her legs and stepping out. It seemed that the landing crew was going to bring Khan on board shortly and she at least wanted to get a glimpse of him to make sure he was well. Lash mentally went through the blueprints of the Enterprise to figure out the fastest way to the shuttle bay. Having the picture in her mind, she looked around once more before walking with purpose towards the turbo lift again.

Stepping out of the lift at the correct level, she walked around curve after curve until she came to the hub. She found an out of the way place where she could stand and be mostly hidden from prying eyes. She managed to find three metal support beams that met at the floor; she hid in between them. And waited.

She waited for what felt like hours before a shuttle returned and docked. Hoping that this was the shuttle Kirk (and whoever else was with him) took to get Khan, she straightened her posture to get the best view that she could.

Lash watched a team of security Officers come to the door of the shuttle. After waiting a few more minutes, the door to the shuttle finally slid open and Khan's tall and familiar form stepped out. Kirk and four others stepped out after him, but Lash didn't care. Her eyes were trained on Khan.

She watched him carefully as he was marched away, looking for a sign that he was in pain or hurt in any way. Aside from a few scratches on his cheeks (which was quite possibly the results of a scuffle), he was unharmed. His hair even looked perfectly slicked back.

She followed him with her eyes as he walked past. Only when he was out of her eyesight was she able to breathe again, albeit raggedly. She felt her heart skip beats as it sped up. She didn't realize how hard she had gripped a support beam until she pried her hand away, seeing the light indent she left behind. Leaning against one of the beams, she brought a shaking hand to her head; she felt slightly dizzy, yet light-hearted. He was okay. Khan was alive.

She had to get control of herself before she even thought of initiating the next step in her plans. She also knew that Kirk and his First Officer, Spock, would want to interrogate Khan. So to give them (and herself) some time, Lash headed back to her hiding spot on the warp core level. She was curious to see how far along they were getting on the leaking coolant pipes as well.

Upon reaching the correct level, Lash easily found her hiding spot again. She crouched down and maneuvered so her back was tucked in first, then she pulled her knees up to her chest. Sitting as comfortably as she could in the tight spot, Lash wrapped her arms around her shins and rested her chin on her knees. As she watched engineers work frantically to fix the holes she made, she cleared her mind (which was no easy feat in and of itself) and concentrated on her breathing and her heart beat. If she was to start her own personal 'phase two', she needed to be in complete control.

Several minutes later, Lash had regained control of herself. It still wasn't nearly enough time, so she stayed hidden. She watched as a few engineers got to work on hastily fixing the pipes. She had to admit, they were competent and very efficient; they moved effectively as a single worker and as a group, somehow knowing when to step out of the way or get in it without even looking. Lash found herself grinning at them.

* * *

**A/N: **_So Lash was the problem that dropped the Enterprise out of warp. Sneaky bugger..._

_I made this chapter a little longer than previous ones so I could get to Lash and Khan's reunion sooner. Looks like it'll be the next chapter. Yea! And a big reveal that shocks even Spock! Well, he'll show as much shock as can, anyway...we all know what he's like._

_Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favored!_


	5. So Saying, She Embrac'd Him

**A/N:** _Okie dokie, artichokies! __You should consider yourselves lucky...I'm staying up late to post this early because it's gonna be a busy weekend for me. I have a hockey tournament this weekend and we're looking to keep our undefeated streak from last year and win again. I also have to make cupcakes per a teammate's request. So therefore, I will have no time once I wake up on this loverly Friday._

_And here we have the long awaited (?) chapter where Lash and Khan finally reunite and how they know each other is revealed!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

A little more than two hours had passed by the time Lash got tired of sitting around. They had to have spoken to Khan by now...and she was starting to lose feeling in her legs, the pins and needles stage had passed a while ago.

Unfolding her legs, she slowly got up from her squashed position. Not needing the red operations shirt any longer, Lash pulled the shirt over her head, leaving her in the black, long-sleeved, crew neck. She tossed the red shirt back into her hiding spot. She reached up to check on the progress of the cut above her eyebrow and smirked when she didn't even feel a scab. Straightening out the black Starfleet shirt, she wandered to a far set of stairs and climbed them. As she climbed, she reached up and pulled her hair out of it's tight bun. She liked having her hair loose; she only had it in the bun to appease Marcus. She fluffed the chocolate waves as she reached the top of the first set of stairs.

The next step in her plan was to be 'caught' by security and taken to Kirk, where she would attempt to get him to let her see Khan. She did not, however, want to be caught so close to the coolant leaks, so she took two flights of stairs and walked into remote parts of engineering.

Lash had been walking catwalks with her hands held behind her back for a good fifteen minutes, before she spotted a small team of red-shirted security coming towards her. With a smile smirk, she continued to walk steadily towards them.

"Stop right there!" The leader of team yelled to her, his phaser (set to stun) pointed at her. Lash stopped, smirk still firmly in place. "Put your hands where we can see 'em."

"I need to speak with Captain Kirk." She said calmly as she slowly raised her hands in the air.

"Yeah? And why's that?" He asked, turning to one of the Officers behind him. "Cuff her."

"I have information that he might want to be privy to." Lash bluffed. She did have information...that didn't mean she was going to hand it over right away.

The Officer with the handcuffs approached her and took first her left hand, then her right and cuffed them in front of her. He stepped behind her and put a hand in between her shoulder blades. He gave her a generous shove towards the leader. A bit of Lash's hair fell in front of her eyes, but she turned her head to glare over her shoulder at the Officer.

"What kind of information?" The leader asked, lowering his phaser as Lash stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Information only the Captain needs to know right now." She answered, lowering her head to glare at him slightly.

The leader looked at her for a few moments more before he turned to look at one of the other Officers still behind him. "Call the Captain." He instructed before looking back at her.

Lash gave the leader a slight nod of thanks. She then turned her attention to the Officer who pulled out his communicator.

"Captain Kirk." He called, then waited a few seconds for a response.

"_Yeah."_ Kirk replied.

"Sir, we have a Code 39 in engineering."

"_On my way._"

The communicator cut out and the Officer folded his and put it back in a pocket on his belt.

The leader nodded to the Officer still behind Lash and he pushed her forward again in a non-verbal, yet rude, gesture for her to start walking. The leader and the one who called Kirk were in front of her, while the pushy one and the other Officer in the team were behind her.

They led her down flights of stairs to the main deck of engineering. They formed a box around her to make sure she didn't go anywhere while they waited for Kirk. A few minutes later, Kirk and (Lash could only assume) Commander Spock walked up to them. They looked her over before Kirk turned to the leader.

"_She_ is the problem?" He asked as he pointed to her.

Lash rolled her eyes as the leader nodded.

"Where'd you come from?" He asked, stepping inside the makeshift box, directly in front of Lash.

"Captain. I need to see the man calling himself John Harrison." Lash insisted, looking directly at Kirk and standing up to her full height of five foot six.

"Why?" Kirk looked confused. "Who are you?"

Lash mentally grinned. Two can play this 'twenty questions' game. "I need to see him first, then I'll tell you anything you want."

"What's he to you?" Kirk attempted another line of questioning.

Seeing that she wasn't getting very far in her demands, she decided to give a little more information. With a sigh, she relaxed her shoulders and continued. "Captain, it's been a very long time since I've seen my husband and I know he's on board. Now, please let me see him." She paused for a second. "I'll tell you everything, but after. I. See. Him." She almost snarled the last sentence at the Captain.

Kirk went to say something more, then paused as he looked back at her in shock. Spock, who was observing silently behind Kirk, stepped forward.

"Excuse me. Did you say 'husband'?" He asked Lash.

"Yes."

The Vulcan may not have shown much shock in his facial features, but Lash did notice that his left eyebrow rose.

"You—" Lash turned her attention back to Kirk as he tried to form a coherent thought. "How—You—What—" He eventually huffed and gave up. He just stared at her, waiting for her to explain.

"For the third time, Captain, I will explain AFTER I see Harrison." Lash repeated, balling her hands into fists as she became frustrated.

With another huff, Kirk finally agreed. "Alright. Fine." Lash smiled as he turned to the security team. "You and you," he pointed to the leader and the one with the communicator, "come with us. You two can go…wherever."

The four nodded and the pushy one and the quiet one walked off. The two security personnel stepped to either side of Lash, while Kirk and Spock led the way. When the five reached the turbo lift, Lash was placed beside Kirk with one red shirt behind, the other on her other side. Spock stood slightly in front of the red shirt and pressed the button for the brig. Once they started moving, Kirk glanced at Lash.

"So...you and Kh—" He stopped himself, making Lash raise an eyebrow.

"He's told you who he really is, then." She stated the question.

"Yeah...who _are_ you?" It annoyed Kirk that he didn't know this woman, but her face seemed vaguely familiar to him.

Lash smirked. "My name is Lash." She paused. "And that's all you get before I speak to Khan."

"Why?" Kirk sounded like a petulant child and Lash had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.

"Because there are some things even he doesn't know yet." She answered, turning her head to look at him. "After I speak to him, I'll tell you whatever you want."

"Will you submit to a blood test?" Spock spoke up from the other side of the lift, making Lash swing her head in his direction.

"Sure." She said with a shrug.

They were silent on the rest of the ride to the brig. After the lift stopped, they all stepped out. Lash paused.

"Can these be removed?" She asked, raising her hands to indicate the handcuffs.

The four men looked at each other. Spock opened his mouth to say something, but Lash beat him to it, knowing he was going to suggest not to.

"Look. I am not my husband. I'm not about to attack, as I am unarmed and unskilled in hand to hand combat." She said, but they still looked unsure. She sighed. "It may be a shock to you, but I'm just a woman looking for her husband, Captain. I have no ulterior motive. I promise you."

Kirk eventually nodded to the security leader. He looked fairly unsure about this decision, but wasn't about to go against the Captain's orders. The leader took a key out of his belt and unlocked the handcuffs from around Lash's wrists. She nodded at the Officer in thanks, then turned to Kirk as she rubbed her wrists.

"Thank you." She said softly, giving Kirk a genuine look. She was finally able to push her hair behind her ears and out of her way.

Kirk nodded, then motioned with his hand for her to walk ahead of them and around the next left-hand turn. Lash nodded her head and took slow steps towards the corner. Behind her, she heard Kirk telling the security that they were no longer needed, then the sound of the turbo lift doors as security left, leaving her with Kirk and Spock.

Lash paused at the corner. Taking a deep breath, she put her hand on the wall, then stepped slowly around the corner. Her first glance of Khan was him standing in the middle of an oblong cell, arms crossed over his chest, and glaring at the wall, thinking. His back was straight and his broad shoulders were pulled back (as usual). He was wearing black trousers and boots and the same black, Starfleet crew-neck that Lash was wearing.

Lash's breath caught in her throat; her husband was still as handsome as the day they met...as clichéd as it was, it was true.

Brining her hand up to her chest, where her heart squeezed emotionally, she felt the tell-tale pressure behind her eyes and the lump in her throat, her body wanting her to cry.

"Khan..." She breathed, taking tentative steps towards him.

Somehow, the man in the cell heard her. His head snapped up and a look of extreme surprise fell across his features.

"Lash?" He questioned in disbelief, his arms falling to his sides.

Lash ran across the brig and over to Khan's cell, her long hair flying in chocolate waves behind her as she went. She placed her right hand on the glass as soon as she reached him. Khan stepped down and placed his hand on the glass over hers.

"Lash, how...?" Khan started to ask her softly, his facial features softening for the wife he hadn't seen in over two hundred years.

"Marcus." Lash replied quietly in explanation. She saw Khan's eyes widen as he understood; she was the other member of his crew that had been woken up to ensure his cooperation.

Lash grinned faintly, before turning to look at Kirk, who was standing with Spock halfway across the room. "Captain, will you let me in with him?" She asked almost shyly.

Kirk could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. He always hated to see a woman cry.

"Captain, this does not seem like a good idea." Spock threw in his two cents. "Not to mention the protocol violations…"

"Noted, Spock." Kirk replied, not taking his eyes off of Lash.

Lash felt her heart rate increase, becoming distressed the more Kirk prolonged his answer. After watching her for what felt like hours, Kirk finally agreed.

"Alright." He turned to the Officer currently on security detail for Khan. "Open the cell." He then turned back to Khan. "You. Back up three steps." Khan obeyed. "Now don't move. She will come to you. Got it?"

"Of course, Captain." Khan acknowledged, keeping his eyes on Lash.

Lash took a few backwards steps away from the glass as well, her eyes never leaving Khan's. She waited impatiently for the glass to fall away. When it did, she launched herself towards Khan, throwing one arm around his neck and the other around his waist. Khan wrapped his arms around her the same way. Both held onto the other tightly and didn't move for several minutes.

Neither noticed the glass being replaced, locking them both in the cell.

Lash felt a few tears slowly make tracks down her cheeks and onto Khan's shirt. She didn't care. She shifted her hand to hold onto the back of his neck as she slowly moved her head back to look at him. When her moss-colored eyes met his stormy sea eyes, she smiled at him. He grinned back.

"I have missed you so much." He whispered to her as he brought his hand around to wipe a tear off of her cheek.

Lash choked back her sobs. "I have missed you, too."

Khan then leaned his head towards hers and gave her a much needed kiss. Lash answered immediately, kissing him just as passionately.

As their kissing continued, Kirk started to become uncomfortable. He cleared his throat to at least get them to stop for a moment. Khan broke their kiss and looked up at him. "I'll give you ten minutes to be reacquainted." Kirk demanded. "When we come back, I want answers."

Khan nodded in answer for both him and Lash, then watched as Kirk and Spock left them. When they were gone, he rested his head on Lash's shoulder and she combed her fingers through his hair.

"It's been two hundred sixty-three years since I last had you in my arms." Lash managed to whisper in his ear. She felt a chuckle rumble through him.

"It could have been longer." He replied.

The thought made Lash hold onto him tighter.

Another few minutes passed before Lash felt like she could loosen her grip on him enough to talk of a few things before Kirk came back. She moved her arms to hold him around his waist.

"Where's your ring?" Khan asked. It was one of the first things he noticed missing when he saw her.

Lash grinned as she reached up with one hand and pulled the chain out of her shirt, her wedding ring dangling securely from it.

"I didn't want to risk losing it or cause suspicion." She explained.

"As long as Marcus didn't take it from you." He said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Lash tucked the chain back into her shirt, then sighed as she rested her head on her husband's chest.

"How did you manage to escape Marcus' grip?" She eventually asked.

"It wasn't easy. I knew I had to get away from him in order to find a way to get the crew to safety." He paused. "I had hoped to call his bluff when he threatened me with the life of the crew member he also awoke. If I would have known it was you, I would have found you and taken you with me." He explained.

Lash shook her head. "Marcus had be kept away when you were on Starfleet property." She said sadly. "He provided me with equipment to keep my eyes on the comings and goings of select people, but he never knew that I kept a close watch on you, too." She smiled. "I've always been one step behind you, my love. When you showed up at HQ, I saw you in the ship right before you transported to Kronos. It was the closest I had been to you in the year since Marcus woke us."

Khan pulled her into another tight embrace, placing his hand on the back of her head to keep her close. Lash turned her face towards Khan's neck and inhaled his scent; he smelled like rain, like he normally did, not like sweat like she was expecting.

"How did Marcus get you agree to help him?" Khan eventually asked.

"I'll explain everything when Kirk comes back, but he blackmailed me with your life." She replied, gently kissing his neck.

"Same with me." He said on a sigh.

They stood keeping each other in an embrace for the few minutes they had left before Kirk and Spock returned. When they did, another man in a blue shirt was with them.

* * *

**A/N:** _So? Did I surprise anyone with the reveal of their marriage or did you have that figured out by now? Meh, if you weren't paying much attention maybe it sneaked up on you. But what'd you think? I had a tough time trying to figure out how I could get Lash to Khan in the brig and keep her in her character...I feel like she'd use her brain more than brawn and considering she doesn't have brawn (like she says to Kirk up there), I felt having her be 'caught' was a descent solution._

_Oh. I actually looked up the security code...some of 'em are actually a bit vague, so I found the one that was closest (Code 39) to the situation. Just so I don't get any flack from the die-hard Trekkies out there, the actual Code 39 is _"An attack by unknown agents on Federation personnel or civilian installations or residence". _Seriously. That was the closest I could get...I didn't find one for 'random person running around where she shouldn't be'. :-P_

_And sorry about the kind of obvious cliffhanger...it was getting long and this was about the best place to stop before things picked up again._

_Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favored!_


	6. An Enemie We Have, Who Seeks Our Ruin

**A/N: **_Sorry for the delay. I was super busy this past week; I volunteered and played in a hockey tournament (Hockey Fights MS...my friend founded the tournaments), then helped out with the men's tournament the next weekend, and in between I volunteered to be stage crew for a gigantic music festival held in the area every year. And yesterday was my birthday and I went to Six Flags. Today was the first time I got to relax in 9 days..._

_Someone (I'm so sorry I can't remember who it was at this point) asked why Lash doesn't have the fighting skills that Khan possesses...she's more brain than brawn. She told Kirk [in the last chapter] that she didn't know hand to hand combat; she could have been lying. *hint, hint* I feel that because of their relationship and who they are, Khan would rather fight (even though he's incredibly intelligent himself) and Lash would rather outwit...maybe resorting to fighting as a last-ditch effort.  
Does that make sense? Confusion cleared now? (I'm also taking fanfiction liberties here, because not a lot is known about their people.)_

_Okay, now let's get on with this chapter (it's fairly dialog heavy). If you'll remember from the last chapter, I left you with a lame cliffhanger where Spock and Kirk came back to the brig with another blue-shirted man..._

* * *

"This is Doctor McCoy. He'll be taking your blood sample." Kirk explained to Lash as McCoy approached the glass.

Like he did with Khan, he opened a small hole for Lash to put her arm through. "Arm through the hole." The doctor instructed.

Lash looked up at Khan before reluctantly releasing him and doing as the doctor said. He produced a piece of medical equipment that looked like a hypospray. After Lash pushed her sleeve up to her elbow, she made a fist and put her arm through nervously. She winced when McCoy pressed the instrument to her arm (probably a little harder than necessary) and it started taking her blood. When he had collected enough blood to fill the small chamber, he took the instrument away and Lash pulled her arm back towards her. With a small, grumbled 'ow', she rubbed the area. McCoy closed the hole, sending the device off to the side.

Lash watched the doctor watch Khan as he moved towards her. She didn't miss McCoy's raised eyebrow when Khan's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to his side.

"I'll let you know if I find anything...again." The doctor said to Kirk before walking away.

"Right. Thanks." Kirk said distractedly, keeping his eyes on the woman in the cell. "Alright, Lash, spill."

Lash took a deep breath before telling Kirk of what she had been up to since Marcus had awoken her two days after Khan. She explained how Marcus used her as blackmail for Khan, even though he didn't know it was actually her, and how she was blackmail for him. She explained that she was given the alias Lieutenant Marla McGivers to keep her and Khan safe and away from suspicion.

"That's where I've seen you." Kirk interrupted her story.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You're Admiral Marcus' assistant."

"That was the cover, yes."

She then continued on, detailing how Marcus was using her as a spy, while following Khan's movements on the side. She went on to explain that Marcus had her 'transferred' onto the Enterprise so she could disable it.

"I am sorry about that." She cringed. "I had to follow orders if I was ever to see Khan again. Like I said before, Captain: I'm just a woman looking for her husband." Khan squeezed her waist and she placed her hand over his as she looked up at him with a forced smile.

Kirk believed the story, albeit grudgingly, and was about to ask some follow up questions when a communiqué cut him off.

"_Proximity alert, sir. There's a ship at warp heading right for us."_

"Klingons?" He asked, stupidly.

Lash rolled her eyes. _We're only minutes from Kronos. Why would they need warp?_

"At warp?" Khan sneered, voicing her thoughts. "No, Captain, we all know who it is."

"_No, sir, it's not coming from Kronos."_

While Kirk stared at the two of them, slowly piecing together the parts both Khan and Lash had given him, Lash gripped Khan's fingers and squeezed. It was Marcus and she did NOT want to see that man again for fear she would do something regrettable.

Once the light bulb over Kirk's mind clicked on, his eyes widened and he turned from them, running out of the brig, shouting instructions as he went.

"Lieutenant, move Kahn and Lash to med. bay post six and sic security Officers on them."

"Yes, sir." The Officer who was keeping an eye on them replied.

"Hmm…med. bay post six." Lash pondered out loud. "I have a friend stationed near there."

"Friend?" Khan asked skeptically.

"When I say friend..." she grinned at him.

"Ah, my clever wife." He smirked, hugging her around the shoulders. "Getting Marcus' minions to do your dirty work for you."

"Yeah, well, she's a nurse. I thought she might come in handy someday." Lash said with a shrug.

They watched as a team of security Officers assembled outside of the cell, all carrying large guns, ready to fire if necessary. The Lieutenant in the brig lowered the glass keeping Khan and Lash imprisoned.

"Alright, you two, let's go." The Officer closest to them said.

Khan released Lash, then held his arm out in front of them, indicating that she should move first. She did, but reached back and grabbed Khan's hand so he couldn't be separated from her.

The two were surrounded by security as the troop marched them through the Enterprise to the med. bay. They were led to an out-of-the-way medical table and told to sit.

"I've been sitting for a few hours, I'd rather stand." Lash said crossing her arms under her ample breasts, standing next to Khan's legs as he lifted himself onto the edge of the table.

"Fine. Just don't go anywhere." The Officer replied.

"I'm not stupid." Lash rolled her eyes.

"My dear, your witticism will get you in trouble one of these days." Khan said with a straight face.

"It hasn't so far." She quipped back, sending him a wink.

Khan shook his head minutely before watching his wife. On the outside, she may have seemed calm, but he knew her better; she was worried about what Marcus would do if he got a hold of them. She was worried about what _Starfleet_ would do if they got a hold of them.

Within minutes of them being shuffled along into the med. bay, they felt the ship vibrate as Marcus' unmarked USS Vengeance pulled out of warp…the ship Khan had designed for him. Seconds later, Kirk ordered his conversation with Marcus to be broadcasted ship-wide. Lash and Khan could hear their conversation clearly.

"_Captain Kirk." _Marcus greeted.

"_Admiral Marcus."_ Kirk almost sounded relieved. _"I wasn't expecting you. That's a hell of a ship you got there."_

Lash glanced at Khan, who smirked ever so softly. She smirked back.

"_And I wasn't expecting to get word that you had taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders."_

Lash frowned. Marcus knew that Kirk wasn't going to kill Khan. There wasn't a need for him to act surprised...he had to be faking it.

"_Well, we, uh...we had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned."_ She grinned to herself. _"But you already knew that, didn't you, sir?"_

"_I don't take your meaning."_

"Liar." Lash muttered. He knew exactly what happened. Now she knew he was faking this conversation.

"_Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? To assist with our repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the neutral zone?"_

"To make sure we're dead." She mumbled to Khan, who nodded once.

There was a long pause before Kirk continued. _"Is there something I can help you find, sir?"_

"_Where's your prisoner, Kirk?"_

Lash unconsciously stepped closer to Khan, placing her hand on his thigh.

"_Per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on returning _Khan_ to Earth to stand trial."_

"_Well, shit...you talked to him. You know about Lash, too, then?"_

"_Yes sir. Found her as well."_

"_This is exactly what I was hoping to spare you from. I took a tactical risk and woke that bastard up,"_ Lash frowned and clenched her free hand, leaving half-moon indents in her palms. _"believing that his superior intelligence would help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next. I also believed that Lash had the ability predict an oncoming attack from our enemies."_

"Oh, bullshit." Lash growled. Khan reached up and took her hand from off of his leg, holding it in his larger one. She looked over to him. "He's a selfish dick." Khan didn't respond, but she saw the twinkle in his eyes that indicated he was amused.

"_But I made a mistake and now the blood of everybody he's killed is on my hands. So I'm asking you...give him, and Lash, to me so I can end what I started."_

"_And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of their crew, sir? Fire them at the Klingons? End seventy-one lives? Start a war in the process?"_

Lash looked at Khan, saw the fear in her eyes reflected back in his. She squeezed his hand.

"_Khan put those people in those torpedoes and I simply didn't want to burden you with what was inside of 'em. You saw what this man can do by himself. Can you imagine what Lash would be able to accomplish with him? Can you imagine what would happen if we woke up the rest of their crew? What else did they tell you? That they're peacekeepers? They're playing you, son, don't you see that?"_

If Lash ever got her hands on that man, he was going to regret he ever picked up their ship and woke her and Khan up. She could feel her nails break the skin of her palm.

"_Khan and his crew were condemned to death as war criminals and now it's our duty to carry out that sentencing before anybody else dies because of them."_

_That,_ both Lash and Khan knew, was a lie.

Khan was an excellent strategist and leader, so during the Eugenics Wars of the mid 1990's, Khan grew to power, taking over more than a quarter of Earth's populated countries. He may have ruled his subjects with an iron fist, but during his reign, there were no massacres or internal wars. It was when other nations started to push back that he got in trouble. The best thing they could do was flee to escape death at the hands of other tyrants. So with seventy-one faithful followers (seventy-two when including Lash), they forced themselves into exile. They boarded the SS Botany Bay and flew out to space before putting themselves in cryostasis until they could find a more habitable planet to flourish on...but Marcus found them first.

Lash was pissed and she was sure Khan was as well. It would be a fight between the two to decide who got to kill Marcus if they ever got the chance.

"_Now, I'm gonna ask you again, one last time, son. Lower your shields, tell me where they are."_

Lash held her breath, hoping Kirk wouldn't give them away. She didn't think he would, but there was still a chance.

"_They're in engineering, sir. But I'll have them moved to the transporter room right away."_

"_I'll take it from here."_

The communication cut off and Lash watched as Doctor McCoy and Marcus' daughter entered the med. bay.

Lash didn't know what sort of plan or ploy Kirk had in mind, but knowing that the Captain was sticking to Starfleet regulations, she knew that he wasn't going to easily hand them over to Marcus.

Less than a minute after Kirk and Marcus spoke, everyone could feel that the Enterprise jumped into a warp. Lash let out a small breath of relief, but noticed that Khan didn't even move a muscle. Something told her they weren't out of harm's way yet.

Carol Marcus walked over to the pair and stood in front of them, attempting to stare them down; Lash found this amusing, coming from the petite woman. When the younger woman's eyes landed on Lash, she squinted at her for a moment.

"I know you." She almost said to herself.

"You only think you do." Lash grumbled back.

Marcus' daughter scoffed and rolled her eyes childishly before she ventured to stare down Khan again.

McCoy shambled over to the husband and wife, carrying medical scanners. "Well, seems we're moving again." He muttered as he held the scanner up to Khan.

Khan, who had been looking straight ahead at nothing, shifted his eyes towards the doctor. "If you think you're safe at warp, you're wrong." He said, eyes leaving the doctor to stare at whatever he was before.

McCoy slowly lowered the scanner as he glanced at Lash. She only stared back, hoping the doctors would come to their own conclusions. It appeared they did (and faster than Lash thought they would). McCoy looked to Marcus, who then caught on and ran out of the med. bay to warn Kirk.

"This can wait." McCoy muttered to himself as he walked over to a desk scattered with equipment, PADDs, and experiments.

Lash watched the doctor before glancing back at Khan, who was watching her. She stared deeply into his stormy eyes, looking for the calm she knew he possessed. The calm he could show better than she could.

Lash didn't know how much time had passed before the Enterprise shook. The movement would have sent her flying backwards if it wasn't for Khan's quick reflexes. He released her hand only to catch her round the waist and bring her in between his legs, where he trapped her with his well-muscled thighs. His hand slid around her back, holding her against him, while his other hand grabbed the edge of the table and held tight, leaving large indents in the metal. Lash wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck.

"Marcus might just try to kill us all." Khan said in her ear.

Lash absently nodded her agreement. She was, however, more concentrated on keeping her feet. She could feel the ship spin out before coming to a stand-still. The red emergency lights flashed around them.

"And now he's knocked us out of warp." Lash said, lifting her head enough to rest her chin on Khan's shoulder and watch the chaos around them.

Khan relaxed his hold on the table, but didn't let go completely. He knew Marcus had more up his sleeves. He also relaxed his legs around his wife, but did not allow her to move away...not that she was trying to leave his embrace. The ship took a few more hits before the Vengeance stopped firing all together.

"Does Marcus know his daughter's on board?" Lash asked him as she pulled her head back enough to search Khan's face.

"I do not believe so." He said, staring into her moss-colored eyes. "He wouldn't have fired on the ship otherwise."

She nodded, then shifted her eyes down to his chest. "He's going to transport her over and take out the Enterprise anyway." She said softly after a moment, understanding.

"Most likely. That ship has the capability to transport from anywhere. She doesn't have to be on the transport pad to be beamed over." He explained.

Lash let out a mirthless laugh. "I love you, but we really need to work on your delivery of bad news."

Khan released the table to reach up and tilt her chin so she was looking into his eyes again. "I've always loved you." He said with as much emotion as he could, letting his hand drop to her hip. "Never forget that."

Lash gazed into his eyes for a moment longer before she leaned in and kissed him, thoroughly. Her arms slid around his shoulders to his neck, where she sank her fingers into his hair. His arm tightened around her back, pulling her closer to him as his other hand flexed around her hip.

* * *

**A/N:** _Brownie points if you spotted the _Sherlock _reference...I didn't do it on purpose, though...it just happened._

_And you gotta love pirated movie websites...even though the one I found wasn't that great. That's how I got the dialog you recognize, so that doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing and tweaking it for fun._

_Don't forget to drop me a review! :-)_

_Thanks to all of you who have read, alerted, reviewed, and favored!_


	7. From the Depth of Knowledge Past

**A/N:** _Soooo...my excuse this week is that my best friend just bought a house with her boyfriend and the house needs A LOT of work (for example: he accidentally put a hole in a plaster wall only to find that there's no insulation in the house, so the walls came down and insulation is on it's way in. And we tore up the god-awful floor), so I've been helping them whenever they need it (I like demolition and re-build, anyway).  
And I've been job hunting...since I still lack one of those..._

_But anyway. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

_Tiny recap: Lash gazed into his eyes for a moment longer before she leaned in and kissed him, thoroughly. Her arms slid around his shoulders to his neck, where she sank her fingers into his hair. His arm tightened around her back, pulling her closer to him as his other hand flexed around her hip.  
_

This was how Kirk found them when he re-entered the med. bay. He gave the couple another moment before marching over. "Tell me everything about that ship." He demanded as he approached, ending their kiss.

Lash pulled away from Khan's lips and let her arms slowly fall from him; she dragged her hands down his chest and arm, touching him as much as she could before releasing him completely. She noticed earlier that Kirk wasn't too comfortable around them when they shared an intimate moment, so she stepped out from between Khan's legs to shift over to his right. Khan kept his arm around her waist, but released her hip, letting his left hand rest on his thigh.

They both watched Kirk stroll towards them and stop directly in front of Khan, staring him down.

He definitely did a better job of it than Carol Marcus. Khan stared impassively right back.

"Dreadnought-class. Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat." Khan explained, never blinking.

"I will do everything I can to make you answer for what you did." Kirk spat, keeping his eyes on Khan.

He paused long enough that Lash wanted him to continue, curious to what he was going to add. "But." She prompted.

Kirk glanced at her quickly before looking back at Khan, almost in defeat. "But right now, I need your help."

"In exchange for what?" Khan was quick to respond.

"You said you'd do anything for your crew. For Lash. I can guarantee their safety." Kirk bribed.

"Captain," Khan breathed, "You can't even guarantee the safety of your _own_ crew."

Kirk looked like he was ready to assault Khan. Lash took a tiny step closer to her husband in a weak attempt to help him, should he need it...not that he would. Kirk was clearly at a loss, so he turned to Doctor McCoy to stall.

"Bones, what are you doing with that tribble?" He asked the doctor.

Lash looked over to McCoy, curious to what a tribble looked liked. She'd only read about the creatures when she was first woken up.

"The tribble's dead. I'm injecting Khan and Lash's platelets into the deceased tissue of the necrotic host." McCoy described. "Their cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen and I wanna know why."

Kirk looked back at Khan, bringing Lash's attention back as well. "Are you coming with me or not?" He asked.

Khan turned his head to look at Lash, silently asking her what she thought. "Go. I'll be fine." She said before looking up at Kirk. "With the Captain's permission, I might be able to help Doctor McCoy and his tribble."

"Are you medically trained?" McCoy asked over his shoulder, hearing their conversation.

"No, but I can give you some insight. Help you speed up your thought process." She replied.

"When he leaves," Kirk nodded towards Khan, "you give Bones some notes, then head to the brig. I can't have my crew babysitting you."

Lash scoffed at his turn of phrase. "I don't need to be babysat, Captain." She said with a frown, then hesitated. "But I'll accept."

"Good." Kirk looked back at Khan, waiting for his answer...which he received in a small nod. "Let's go." He started towards the exit hoping Khan would follow.

Khan slid from the edge of the table gracefully and took Lash's hand, pulling her gently behind him.

Kirk turned to look back (to make sure Khan was actually following) and saw Lash coming as well. "She—"

"Is staying with me until we depart." Khan cut him off.

Before Kirk was able to negate Khan, Lash cut in. "We've been apart two hundred and sixty-three years, Captain." She said softly. "And you've only given us twenty minutes together. A few more won't hurt."

Kirk took a deep breath before agreeing, reluctantly, and walked out of the med. bay. Lash glanced up at Khan as they followed the Captain out, several of the security Officers trailing behind.

As they walked, Kirk pulled out his communicator to contact Mr. Scott, who had somehow landed himself on the other ship. Kirk explained that after the Enterprise aligned itself next to the Vengeance, he and Khan were going to be dumped out of a garbage hatch in the Enterprise and zip through space over to the Vengeance. Mr. Scott was told to find an airlock and override the system so he would be able to access its functions.

Lash couldn't help but grin at some of Mr. Scott's replies. She probably would have liked the man if she ever got to meet him. _Unlikely at this point._ She thought as she continued to walk beside Khan, feeling his voice reverberate through his body as he spoke; it was comforting to her.

The company eventually walked into a long, narrow passage. On the floor were large, circular holes that led to the garbage shoots. An Officer approached Khan and Kirk and handed them rubbery, black jumpsuits with tanks attached to the back. Another Officer carried helmets.

Lash watched as Khan stepped into the suit and pulled it up over his hips. She then stepped behind him to help slip his arms through the sleeves and stretched the material up and over his broad shoulders. He zipped up the front as he turned to face her. He tested the palm controls of the suit at the same time Lash turned to the Officer holding the helmets. She held her hand out and he handed one to her. With both hands, she handed the helmet to Khan, who took it with his left hand, while his right came up to cup Lash's cheek. The two stared at each other for a few moments until Kirk was suited up. Khan then shifted his hand to the back of Lash's neck and pulled her into a brief, yet passionate, kiss. When he moved his lips away, he mouthed 'soon' to her before releasing Lash altogether. He slid the helmet on his head and allowed Lash to snap it into place. After slipping thick gloves over his hands, Khan turned to Kirk and nodded.

"Alright. Get her back to the med. bay and as soon as she's done with Bones, take her to the brig." Kirk instructed.

"Yes, sir." All of the Officers answered together.

Lash rose an eyebrow as she watched the selected garbage shoot. Since she had to wait for the Officers, she observed as Kirk, then Khan climbed down the ladder into the shoot. Once the cover was put back in place, the security team turned towards her. One of them stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder to guide her through the hallways back to med. bay post six.

When she arrived, she was told to sit in a chair next to the desk with the dead tribble while she waited for McCoy to come back from wherever he went. When he did come back, he sat at the desk, so he could analyze and speak at the same time. He barely glanced at her as he got back to work.

"Alright, so why do you have super blood?" He eventually asked, leaning over a PADD.

"It's not just our blood, Doctor." Lash explained. "Like you said, our cells regenerate...oddly, for lack of a better term, and quickly but it goes for the rest of our body as well." She reached up to move her hair away from where she hit her head earlier, revealing the tiny scar. "I got this scar about an hour ago. Two hours before it was a scar, it was a cut I received when the Enterprise fell out of warp."

McCoy looked at her scar clinically before turning his gaze back to the desk. "How'd you become genetically altered?"

"We were experiments." She sighed. "We were part of a program designed for genetic altering and selective breeding based on eugenic philosophy. I don't know the philosophy; I never asked about it because I was rebellious in my younger days and didn't give a shit." Lash grinned. She saw McCoy make a few notes on the PADD. "I don't really know who created us or what their initial reasons for doing so were. I _do_ know that about one hundred years ago, a man named Arik Soong tried to recreate what Khan and I are. He was a geneticist who tried to breed out the more aggressive of our qualities. I read that he was imprisoned for his experiments."

The doctor hummed. "Yeah, I read about him a while ago." He muttered. "Anything else?"

"What specifically are you looking for, Doctor?" Lash countered.

"I'm not sure." He grudgingly admitted.

Lash gave him a small smirk. "Than I think we're done here." She rose from the chair and took a few steps towards the guards before turning back to McCoy. "Oh, is Nurse Davies available for a minute or two?" She asked.

"Possibly. Why?"

"She's holding a bag of clothes for me. I'd like to change my shirt before I'm sent off to the brig." Lash annotated.

"How do you know Davies?" McCoy asked, looking like he was planning to call security to find the nurse and lock her up with Lash.

"Marcus." Lash replied, simply. "She was working under him, but he didn't have his claws into her nearly as deep as Khan and I. She was just my nurse."

The doctor stared at her for a moment longer before turning back to his desk and hitting a few buttons, calling for the nurse and to bring down Lash's bag.

"Thank you." Lash said with a slight bow of her head.

A few moments had passed when Nurse Davies walked into the med. bay. She handed the bag to Lash, who thanked her. The nurse asked McCoy if there was anything else he needed. He said no and Davies left the bay with one last look at Lash. Once the nurse departed, Lash swung back to McCoy.

"May I have some privacy somewhere? I'm not about to change out in front of all of you." She said, glancing meaningfully around her.

"Back over to the table. Pull the curtain around." McCoy instructed. "Be quick."

With an obedient nod, Lash sauntered back to the metal exam table and set her bag on it. She noticed Khan's indented handprint on the metal as she swung the curtain around, concealing her from everyone's view. Wanting to change quickly, Lash unzipped her bag and pulled out another black, long-sleeved, crew-necked Starfleet shirt. She shucked the dirty shirt and threw on the clean one. She immediately felt better; she didn't smell like engineering anymore. She shoved the old shirt into her bag, not needing to take care with it, then dug around a bit attempting to locate the PADD of her own design.

If it wasn't in there, the nurse was going to pay.

Lash finally found the device wrapped up in the blue science shirt she had brought along just in case. Sighing, she lifted up the back of her shirt and tucked the PADD into the waistband of her trousers, hoping security wouldn't be smart enough to search her when she stepped out. After she secured the PADD, Lash zipped up the bag and pulled the curtain back around, exposing herself once again. She walked over to McCoy and held up her bag.

"I don't know what to do with this." She explained to his raised eyebrow.

He nodded resignedly and took it, tossing it underneath the desk he was working at. He then, non-verbally, told the guards to take her away.

So they did.

Security marched her right back to the brig, where she was placed in the same oblong cell Khan (and her) had occupied previously. Lash held her hands behind her back and kept her eyes on the security Officers as they exited. One of them stayed behind to relieve the Officer on duty in the brig.

While they were changing, Lash subtly lifted her shirt and slid her PADD out, holding it behind her. She backed up and stepped up the step, keeping her back away from any possible prying eyes as she walked towards the cot. Right before the Officer sat down to check on Lash and the screens, she turned swiftly, still keeping the PADD out of sight. She then sat on the cot (faced towards the back of the cell) and pulled her knees up to hide and cradle the PADD in her lap. Stealthily shifting her arms, she let her fingers fly over the screen, bringing up a schematic of the Vengeance. It took her moments to hack into Marcus' files and find what she was searching for.

It took her a few moments more before she had most of the ship's layout memorized. It took her a few more seconds as she used a heat-seeking tracer to locate and follow Khan, Kirk, and Mr. Scott's path from the airlock to the bridge. By the time she found them, on the bridge, everyone was standing still. A few more forms were there, but their heat signatures were rapidly declining. She assumed one to be Marcus, but the others she had no way to find out who they were. Since they were standing still, she wondered if there was a communication line opened between the Enterprise and the Vengeance. Hacking a little more, Lash was able to have the communiqué transcribed. It appeared it was towards the end of the conversation.

_Khan: Now, shall we begin?_

_Spock: Lower shields._

_Khan: A wise choice, Mr. Spock._

There was a long pause.

_Khan: I see your seventy-one torpedoes are still in their tubes and Lash is in the brig. If those torpedoes are not ours, Commander, I will know it._

_Spock: Vulcans do not lie. The torpedoes, and Lash, are yours._

_Khan: Thank you, Mr. Spock._

It was then Lash noticed golden wisps circling her body. She'd never been transported before and the feeling was not one she would like to repeat; having every cell in your body disintegrate then regenerate in another place was not the best feeling in the world.

When Lash regenerated, she was sitting on the floor in a dark corridor. Her arms flew out to keep her balance, but she ended up tipping to the side. Hard. She knocked the wind out of herself and her PADD went flying, but she was unharmed.

"_Lash? Are you alright?"_ She heard Khan through the ship's systems.

"Yes. I'm on my way to you. Give me a moment to figure out where I am." She replied, scrambling over to her PADD.

When she picked it up, she saw the screen was cracked the whole way through. With a growl, she tossed it down; it was no use now.

"_Hurry, love."_ She heard Khan again.

Turning around, she searched for a ship computer. Locating one glowing at the end of the corridor, she ran over to it and started typing to figure out where she was located in relation to the bridge. She found she was only one level and a few corridors over. She ran, sprinted, down the corridors and found a turbo lift. Getting in, she felt the ship shake violently. Crouching down, she waited for the shaking to stop before standing and hitting the button for the next floor up.

When she arrived, she sprinted out and burst onto the bridge at the end of the corridor.

"What the hell was that?" She shouted.

Khan swung his head towards her, his expression was beyond angry; it was down-right menacing. "They detonated the torpedoes." He growled viciously.

"What?" Lash breathed, stumbling over to Khan. She flopped down into the Captain's chair, not caring about rank (then again, the two of them were equal in rank).

Lash remained in the chair, trying to think of how things escalated so quickly. She stayed out of Khan's way as he frantically attempted to get the ship in working order again. She managed to look around her and saw the bodies of Marcus' crew scattered around...then caught sight of Marcus himself, skull smashed in, propped up in a corner.

"Son of a bitch." She whispered, emotionlessly, to herself. "Got to him before I could."

* * *

**A/N: **_You know, I had a rough time with this part...I couldn't decide on where Lash should be when Kirk and Khan are zipping over to the Vengeance. I first had her taken to the bridge so she could watch their progress, but then I thought 'first of all, why would she be allowed on the bridge?' then thought 'that's not very original and I'd just be retelling the movie'. So I had her help Khan, then be shoved back into holding. And I hope that didn't seem rushed, but I kinda think it was..._

_Stay tuned for the next chapter! It's gonna be fun!_

_And, of course, thank you to all who have read, reviewed, alerted, and favored! I get giddy when I get those e-mails. :-P_


	8. The Sequel Each of Parting and of Fight

**A/N:**_ Okay, so remember in the first chapter when I said I had this all typed up and ready to go? Well, apparently I lied (to myself even). I guess I thought I had it written out, but maybe I was thinking of my notes for this fict? I don't know. So I was spending my time between writing this chapter, read other ficts (I get sucked into some when they're really good), and catching up on 8 seasons of 'Supernatural' (and I still haven't gotten though it yet)._

_So anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy it! There's probably only 2 more chapters until the end...BTW._

* * *

It wasn't until the Vengeance started going into freefall that Lash was knocked out of the chair and unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. She stood up and stumbled over to the controls next to Khan.

"Let me help." She said to him, trying to keep her cool and not end up sobbing on the floor.

Nodding once, Khan continued to move like a man possessed, giving Lash instructions when the need came. The two ran through the bridge (as the ship started to deteriorate around them) so they could get control once more.

Through the wide, glass view screen, the two could watch as they fell towards Earth. As they passed through the atmosphere, a tiny blip could be seen ahead: the Enterprise.

"The Enterprise got its engines back." Lash said, more to herself than Khan, who was still running from computer to computer. She turned her head to look at him; if it was possible, Khan looked even more maniacal than he did when she first came onto the bridge. She'd never seen her husband so angry before...not even during the Eugenics Wars when their lives had been threatened by assassins daily.

Lash watched Khan as he careened towards her. She wrapped her hands around his left bicep to both help keep him balanced and endeavor to calm him. He glanced down at her, a wild look still in his eyes, then looked back out of the view screen.

They watched as they fell past the Enterprise and below the cloud line. Khan shouted orders to the ship's computer system as they were pitched forward. "Set destination! Starfleet Headquarters!"

"_Engines compromised. Cannot guarantee destination. Confirm order._" The computer replied.

"Confirm." Khan growled.

Lash was surprised, yet not surprised by the order. Take out Starfleet for taking out their crew. It seemed as good a revenge plot as any.

They kept falling towards the Earth at a rapid pace.

Lash turned her body towards Khan and waited for her husband to do the same. She released his arm with her right hand and reached up to run her fingers through his hair, pushing it back at the same time. She stared into his eyes and watched as he slowly and ever-so-slightly relaxed. With her hand on the back of his head, she pulled him towards her and kissed him soundly. Khan responded instantly, wrapping his arms tightly around his wife's frame, keeping her as close to him as he could.

When the need for air became apparent, they broke the kiss, and rested their foreheads together as they leaned against the console to keep their balance.

"I love you." Lash murmured, barely being heard over the ship breaking apart.

"Always love you." Khan answered.

The pair turned their heads to the side to look at how far away they were from Starfleet. Seeing that they were getting closer, Khan released Lash to prepare for the inevitable crash landing. They crouched down behind the console and found solid bits to hold on to. As the Vengeance started taking out buildings in its way, Lash let go of a beam with one hand to reach over and grab onto Khan, whatever she could reach of him. She managed to grab his wrist; if these were her last moments, she wanted to be touching her husband in some way.

The more buildings the Vengeance took out in its descent (and attempt to stop), the more parts of the ship broke and flew through the air. The first to go was the view screen, exploding and sending shards of thick glass in all directions. A chunk hit Lash's leg, knocking her off of her toes, making her lose her grip on Khan, and sending her to the floor on her side. Once the ship hit the ground, Lash and Khan were thrown hard into the support beams of the console. Lash ended up having a beam smack into her lower ribs, knocking the breath from her lungs and possibly damaging the bones. Khan's spine made contact with another beam.

While the ship skidded to a very slow halt, bigger pieces of the ship started to break off. The bodies of Marcus and his crew tumbled out of the now demolished view screen along with broken computer parts and metal pieces that seemed to be breaking off from everywhere. Sparks from broken panels shot from every direction. Khan swung his legs out of the way as a computer screen with attached wires fell towards him. He didn't move out of the way nearly fast enough for the end of the wires, though, and they clipped his cheek on the way out. Through a hiss of short-lived pain, he turned towards Lash, who was curled around the beam at her chest. Her eyes were shut tight (whether from pain or waiting for the ship to stop, Khan didn't know) and she was gripping a beam near her head so tight, her knuckles were turning white as she crushed it. Khan managed to move towards her and curl his body around hers to protect her from any further debris.

When the Vengeance finally stopped moving, Khan unfurled himself from around Lash. Panting, he looked around and quickly assessed the damage. Clearly the ship was beyond help and repair. _Good riddance_. He thought, leaning his back against the computer console. He reached over to Lash (who had yet to move), and slowly pulled her fingers away from the beam, taking her hands into his own. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Whoa." She wheezed. _Yeah, something is definitely broken._ She thought, holding her ribs. "We survived."

Khan nodded. "Yes. Now we need to get out of here." He said, helping her sit up.

With a small groan, Lash got into a sitting position as Khan quickly figured out a way for them to get out of the ship.

"We're going to have to jump." He said, looking over his shoulder and out of the view screen.

"Fine. I'm with you." Lash replied, looking as well.

Nodding, Khan crawled to the end of the console and slid down to the broken view screen. Moments later, Lash followed him, sliding into his arms. The two stood and looked out over San Francisco. They could hear emergency vehicles on their way. They needed to move. Fast.

"When we reach the street, run back to your apartment." Khan instructed, already planning his route away. "Lock yourself in and do not open the door for anyone. I know the Enterprise is still watching us. I'll lead them away, they want me anyway, then I'll come to you when it's safe."

Lash didn't like the idea of splitting up, but realized the logic in his plan. With a reluctant nod, she took a breath and released it as a sigh. "Okay. Just...be careful." She said.

Khan reached over and cupped her face in his large, slim hands. Leaning forward he gave her a kiss. "I'll be fine, love." He said after pulling away. "We'll be okay...eventually."

Lash could see the sorrow of their lost crew in his features briefly before he shut the feelings away and concentrated on getting them the hell out of there. She nodded again as she took his left hand in her right and they faced out again, looking to where they had to go.

"Ready to jump?" Khan asked.

"As I'll ever be." Lash replied, squeezing his hand.

"On three, then." Khan instructed. "One...two...three."

They jumped. A thirty meter jump that had Lash's heart in her throat and jarred her healing broken ribs on landing, setting her back another hour or so in healing.

The couple continued to slide down the ship until they stumbled onto the street level. Their feet hit the ground at the same time. With one last long look at each other, each trying to express everything in that look, they ran in opposite directions: Lash towards Starfleet and her apartment and Khan towards the center of the city.

Lash ran as fast as she could, weaving between gawking people and buildings. She looked behind every once in a while to make sure she wasn't being followed. When she approached the building to her apartment, she saw two Starfleet security Officers guarding the doors. Wondering if they'd already been told that she was working with Khan and to keep an eye out for her, Lash turned her run into a walk as she quickly came up with a plan to get around them and into the building. Walking straight up to the two guards at the front door, Lash put her plan into motion.

"Afternoon, Officers." She said with a smile as she reached for the door.

"Ma'am." The Officer to her right responded with a nod.

Laughing inwardly, Lash opened the door and walked into the building. Once the door shut, she ran over to the turbo lift.

Once in the lift, she let out a sigh after she hit the button for her floor. She leaned back against the wall as she watched the numbers climb steadily higher. When the doors opened on her floor, Lash stepped out carefully, looking each way down the hallway. Seeing no one, she ran down the hall to her rooms and opened the door. Shutting it behind her, she immediately went over to her desk of monitors and hacked into the Enterprise's communications, listening for any word on Khan…hoping to hear none. She set another monitor up to ping if any word came from the higher ups at Starfleet, focusing it on her name, Khan, and John Harrison as keywords.

Shortly after setting up, the monitor for the Enterprise pinged. Lash leaned over and read the transcript.

_Commander Spock: Enterprise. We have Khan in custody. Inform Doctor McCoy._

_Why would McCoy need to be informed?_ Lash thought. He was a doctor and wouldn't be left in command. _What happened?_

With a sigh, Lash leaned back in her chair. She had to come up with yet another plan to get to Khan.

The monitor for the Enterprise pinged again, followed seconds later by the pinging of the Starfleet monitor. She read the transcript from the Enterprise first.

_Commander Spock: Starfleet. This is Commander Spock of the USS Enterprise. We have the criminal Khan, alias John Harrison, in custody. We will be landing momentarily. Have a medical team standing by. Captain Kirk needs immediate medical attention._

Lash raised her eyebrows as in shock as she turned her attention to the Starfleet monitor.

_Starfleet: A medical team has been dispatched to your location. Security as well._

Quickly setting up another monitor, Lash found the Enterprise's location and its course. When she had all she needed to know, she rose from her chair, and walked over to her closet to grab a jacket and a cap in an attempt to hide her identity for a little longer.

A monitor pinged again. After throwing on her jacket, she went over to the desk to see which one it was. It was from Starfleet; a message sent to all Starfleet security located in the San Francisco area.

_Starfleet: The war criminal Khan Noonien Singh, AKA John Harrison, is in Starfleet custody. When he was released from his cryosleep, another was awoken as well. Lash Singh, wife to Khan. She is a supposed member of Starfleet. She is to be brought into custody for aiding and abetting. This needs immediate action._

A file photo of Lash followed.

"Shit." She muttered.

Wondering how much time she had before the security Officers at the front of the building made their way up, she grabbed her cap and tucked her hair up underneath it. She was about to reach for the door, when an insistent knocking came from the other side.

"Lash Singh. Starfleet Officers. Open the door."

_Crap._ Thought Lash, taking a step back. _They're quicker than I thought._

Thinking quick, Lash slowly walked back towards the door and opened it.

"Something I can help you with, Officers?" She asked politely, feigning ignorance.

"Ms. Singh, you're under arrest. Please come with us quietly and without trouble." The Officer to her right said. Both held their weapons at the ready.

As polite as he was, Lash wasn't about to go down without a fight. (Khan wouldn't be too proud of that.) She had told Kirk that she didn't know how to fight. That was just a ploy to get on his good side...though she really wouldn't use any of her hand to hand skills on the Captain (or anyone) unless it was absolutely necessary. A plan formulated as she replied.

"Oh, 'Lash' will be fine." She smiled innocently.

Then, with all the speed she possessed, Lash struck out with her right fist towards the Officer on her left. She hit his nose, breaking it, and making it bleed. He dropped his weapon and grabbed his nose. As soon as she hit the first Officer, she swung with her left fist and connected with the second Officer's temple. He also dropped his weapon and held his hand to his head. Seeing that the second Officer would give her more trouble, Lash's fists flew at his face a few times before she hooked her toe into the strap on his discarded weapon and kicked it up into her hands. She swung at the Officer's head, hitting him in the right spot to knock him unconscious. As he fell to the ground, she turned her attention back to the first Officer. She switched the position of her hands on the weapon, then swung at his head. He dropped his hands from his face as he also fell to the ground.

Lash lowered the weapon and looked around, wondering if anyone would come see what all of the noise was. Hearing no movement, she swiftly gathered the Officers' weapons and turned to her door. Not wanting to leave evidence so obviously, Lash dragged them inside, checking their pulses. She then grabbed their weapons and broke them, leaving them in a pile of metal next to the men.

Taking one more look at the unconscious men, then outside of her door, Lash closed the door and walked towards the turbo lift. She waited impatiently for the lift doors to open. When they did, she stepped in and rode it to the ground floor, fixing her hair under her cap as she watched the progress of the lift. After the doors opened, she stepped out and, as casually as possible, swiftly started her trek to where the Enterprise landed, hoping to find out where they'd taken Khan without getting caught.

It took her a solid hour to get to the building nearest the Enterprise. She had to divert her course quite a few times to avoid being seen and caught by security Officers. She was able to sneak past the Officers standing guard outside of the building easily enough. Inside, though, was bit more of a challenge, but by keeping her head lowered and her jacket zipped up, she was able to bypass a lot of security. Now that Lash was in the correct building, she didn't know where to go. Planting herself in a dark corner, she listened.

Ten minutes later, two doctors stopped near her hiding place. They were speaking in hushed voices about Kirk. From what she could gather, he was radioactively poisoned from the warp core of the Enterprise. She felt a twinge of guilt and sadness, but that immediately went out the window when they started discussing Khan. He was apparently out cold in a secured area of the medical facilities. Listening carefully, she heard what floor he was being held on, then stealthily moved from her position to the nearest lift.

Once she stepped out of the lift, she walked down the hallway, then turned left at the end of it. She came face to face with a security Officer standing outside of Khan's room.

"This is a secured area, ma'am. You'll have to leave." He said sternly.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, sir. It's why I'm here." She replied.

"What?" He asked, looking confused. Obviously, he didn't get the memo for her arrest yet.

She sighed. "That's my husband. I'd like to be with him." She said, glaring up at the Officer.

The confusion cleared and he pointed his weapon at her. "Lash Singh." He said, wanting her to confirm his suspicion.

"Yes. Go ahead and arrest me, but I WILL be staying by Khan's side until he wakes up." She said, holding her wrists out. He looked skeptical, like he was trying to find an ulterior motive, so Lash sighed and continued. "I won't fight you and I'll stay in the room in plain sight."

The Officer was about to speak when a man walked around the corner, looking down at a PADD. Lash sighed in slight relief as Doctor McCoy made his way towards them.

"Doctor McCoy." Lash said. "Will you kindly tell this Officer to cuff me, then let me in to watch over Khan?"

McCoy stopped and looked up, glancing between the Officer and Lash. He frowned. "How did you know he was here? In fact, how did you _get_ here?" He asked her.

"I listen, Doctor." She said cryptically.

There was a moment's silence while the Officer looked between the Doctor and Lash as they stared at each other. McCoy sighed.

"Cuff her and let her in, but get another guard up here to sic on her at all times." McCoy instructed the Officer. "I need your blood, anyway." He said to Lash, who nodded.

The Officer looked hesitantly at McCoy.

"That's an order." McCoy reiterated.

The Officer nodded, lowering his weapon. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put them on Lash's wrists. He then stepped to the side to let both Lash and McCoy through into the room.

* * *

**A/N:** _I know. Not my best chapter, but I'm trying to fill in time jumps that were in the movie (from memory at that because I can't remember where I found the pirated version online)._

_And I've loved McCoy since I started watching Trek many, many years ago, so I wanted him to have a bigger part in my fict...sue me...but not really because that would be dumb and you'd probably lose or they would throw out the case._

_Like I said at the top, I'm looking at 2 maybe (and that's a big maybe) 3 more chapters before this story's complete._

_Big thanks to all who have read, alerted, favored, and reviewed!_


	9. After the Toil of Battle to Repose

**A/N:**_ You can blame the lateness of this chapter on Spock. He did NOT want to be written...and I had a hard time actually writing him for some reason (maybe because I like to give my characters emotions and Spock just doesn't show them? I dunno)._

_You can also blame Castiel from 'Supernatural' for the lateness 'cause he was like: "You're going to be obsessed with me now!" and I was like: "Okay!"  
So yeah...but it's here now._

_For this chapter, and probably the next one, I'll have some time jumps. They will be identifiable like so: _**00000000000000**

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Lash paused right inside of the doorway while McCoy went over to Khan's side. She surveyed her husband, checking for anything wrong; she could only see a few scrapes and bruises. She took slow steps to the side of the bed that McCoy was not on and looked down into Khan's face.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"Spock knocked his lights out." McCoy responded clinically.

Lash's head whipped up. "What?"

"I thought you listened." He stated.

Lash rolled her eyes gently. "To Starfleet communications, not everything in the world. That'd be impossible."

"Spock'll be up soon. He can explain everything." The Doctor said. "In the mean time, take a seat. I need your blood."

Lash nodded, feeling that she wasn't going to get much more information out of McCoy at the present time. Turning, she found a chair in the corner of the room. She went over to it and awkwardly moved the stiff-backed chair next to Khan's bed (her cuffed hands making hard to grip the chair). As she sat, and McCoy gathered materials needed to gain her blood, she reached up with both hands to pull her cap off of her head, letting her hair flow down her back; she tossed the cap onto the floor near her feet. Lash rested her arms on the edge of the bed, taking Khan's hand in between her own. Feeling his pulse and warmth, she relaxed. McCoy then approached her and began the process of taking her blood.

"You know what will most likely happen to him right?" He asked her quietly. "And you?"

"Yes, Doctor. If not death, like the rest of our crew, then cryo forever." Lash replied on a sigh.

"Crew's not dead." McCoy rumbled, keeping his eyes focused on what he was doing.

Lash almost gave herself whiplash, she turned her head so fast. "What?" She breathed.

"Your crew's safe. Spock took them out of the torpedoes before handing them over to Khan. They're currently on the Enterprise, but will be moved to safe keeping, under lock and key, until it's decided on what to do with them." He explained.

Lash's heart beat faster, making her a little woozy since her blood was still being siphoned off.

"That's...a very big relief." She said quietly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." He said, taking the needle out of her arm and placing a bandage over the spot where a little blood was seeping out.

Lash stayed exactly where she was as McCoy cleaned up the area. As he was leaving, a security Officer walked into the room carrying a large weapon and stood next to the door, eyes on Lash. With a sigh, Lash bent her arms on the bed and lowered her head to them; her eyes kept watch on Khan.

A little more than an hour and a half later, Spock walked into the room flanked by two Starfleet personnel in gold shirts. Lash lifted her head to watch him walk in and stop on the opposite side of the bed (leaving a good five foot gap between him and Khan). Spock clasped his hands behind his back, then looked at her for a long moment before shifting his unemotional gaze to the unconscious Khan.

"What happened?" Lash finally asked softly, breaking the silence.

Spock turned his attention back to her, a stern almost hostile look on his face. She then noticed the small cut near the bridge of his nose and under his left eye. She frowned.

"Where would you like me to begin?" He asked.

_Was that sarcasm?_ Lash thought, lifting an eyebrow slightly.

"How about from when you blew up the torpedoes." Lash grumbled.

"Your crew is alive." Spock said.

"I'm aware." She spat, glaring and frowning at the Commander. "Doctor McCoy informed me earlier." She paused before feeling herself start on a rant. "Do you have any idea what that felt like? To be under the impression that your family was murdered by a Starfleet Officer?...Of course you wouldn't, you emotionless Vulcan...I have NEVER seen Khan react the way he did. I have never seen him so furious; not even during the War when we were running for our lives daily."

"If you're looking for sympathy—"

"No. I'm not." Lash cut in aggressively. "I'm trying to understand. I'm trying to see it from both sides of the coin, not just ours."

There was silence in the room, with the exception of Khan's monitors.

Spock nodded almost imperceptively and explained to Lash what happened after the torpedoes detonated. He described what happened to Kirk, but left out details, ending by informing her that the doctors didn't know when he would wake up...or if he even would. But they had every confidence in his struggle for consciousness.

"That's why McCoy needed my blood. To flush out Kirk's own radioactive blood." Lash clarified.

"Essentially. Yes."

Spock then went on to explain how he chased down Khan on foot through the busy streets of San Francisco onto a garbage vessel, where they fought. Spock eventually punched Khan unconscious, ending the fight.

"So why hasn't he woken up? He should have by now." Lash asked, glancing down at her husband.

"Doctor McCoy took a lot of blood." One of the Officers behind Spock glared.

Lash glanced at him briefly, then nodded. There were several more moments of silence.

"There will be a trial once he wakes up." Spock motioned vaguely towards Khan. "You will be put on trial as well for aligning yourself with him. Do you wish for a separate trial?"

"No. His sentence is my sentence." She replied firmly.

Spock paused for a moment. The only tell that he was uncertain was a slight tightening of his lips. "It is possible you will both be sentenced to death."

"So be it." Lash said softly, defiantly.

With a nod, Spock turned on his heel and exited the room, followed by the two gold-shirted Officers. Before he left the vicinity, she heard Spock say to both of the security Officers guarding the room to let him and the new Admiral know when Khan awoke.

**00000000000000**

Lash had been seated at Khan's side for three days, only getting up to stretch her legs and use the restroom.

It was approaching nightfall when Lash heard Khan inhale deeply. Picking her head up from where it rested on his thigh, she looked up at her husband's face. His eyes were slowly opening and glancing about the room. Lash stood so she was in his eye line and smiled softly down at him.

"You're awake." She whispered. "I was getting worried."

"What—" Khan started, but had to stop to clear his throat.

Lash glanced over to the security Officer at the door, who was watching her intently. "Could some water be brought in, please?" She asked quietly.

The Officer looked at her for a long moment before nodding once and sticking his head out of the door to flag down a doctor or nurse. Lash nodded her thanks to the Officer before turning her attention back to Khan, reaching for his hand.

"You're in a hospital. Do you remember what happened?" She asked him, retaking her seat.

He nodded. "Commander Spock and I fought. He knocked me unconscious."

Lash nodded. "That's what he said. Doctor McCoy took a lot of your blood, too." She paused before continuing. "You've been out for three days."

The information must not have shocked Khan all that much. The only sign he was even slightly surprised at the information was a gentle lifting of his eyebrow.

"Why are you here? I told you to stay at your apartment." He eventually said.

"I know. And I'm sorry, but when I heard that you were taken, I had to find you. The communications I overheard led me here." She held up her shackled wrists. "Apparently, I'm under arrest, too. Just for being with you." She smiled to alleviate some of the seriousness of the situation.

"Lash." Khan whispered. "You'll be tried for anything I have done. You'll share in my transgressions."

"I know. I don't care." She replied, leaning towards him. "If I'm not with you, what's the point. I said I'd follow you wherever you went. And I'm still going to following." She lowered her head to kiss him.

When she pulled back several long seconds later, Khan whispered ever so softly: "I love you."

Lash whispered back: "Always." She moved his hair out of his eyes before she continued. "Good news, though...our crew is safe."

Khan's eyes widened, then he frowned. "What? How?"

"McCoy and Spock explained to me that they took the crew out of the torpedoes before handing them over to you. They're still in cryo, safely tucked away." She elaborated, squeezing his hand gently.

Khan tilted his head back into the pillows and took a deep breath in and out through his nose. "That's good then." He mumbled, squeezing Lash's hand in response.

Within the next several minutes, the room was in a flurry of activity. At least four doctors and nurses came into the room, checking on Khan, making sure he was okay to be taken off of their machines and monitors. (One nurse brought in the cup of water Lash asked for.) They came to the conclusion that Khan was healthy and they unhooked him from all monitors and machines.

The medical team left in a hurry when Spock reentered the room. With just one look, everyone vacated except for Doctor McCoy and the security at the door.

Khan sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to face the Commander. Lash walked around the bed to stand next to Khan's legs, her cuffed hands clasped together in front of her, almost making it look like a natural stance.

Spock glanced at both of them in turn. Both were incredibly apathetic, but only Lash showed any sort of emotion in her eyes. The Vulcan could classify the emotion as anxiety even if he never showed it himself. Spock, a being of no-nonsense, spoke directly.

"You will stay the night here. In the morning, you are both to be transferred to a holding cell, where you will remain until Captain Kirk awakens." He explained, constantly shifting his eyes from one to the other. "When the Captain does awake (and Doctor McCoy has informed me that he will) you will both be put on trial, led by the Admiral, for your actions. Whatever your outcome may be, it will be carried out immediately following said trail." He paused. "Understood?"

"Yes." Khan grumbled, staring down the Commander.

Lash let her eyes drop to the floor momentarily before looking back up at Spock, who was watching her intently. "Yes." She answered softly.

With a sharp nod, Spock turned and left the room, Doctor McCoy following behind. The Doctor, however, stopped at the door. He spoke to the security Officer, who then walked up to Lash with the key to her handcuffs. He motioned for her to hold out her hands, and when she did, he took the cuffs off of her, then turned and marched out of the room. When the Officer was gone, McCoy held the sliding door back as he turned and looked back at the couple.

"You can have the next few hours to yourselves. However, if you try to escape, you will be taken down with heavy sedatives at the least. Alright?"

Khan and Lash both nodded. "Thank you, Doctor McCoy." Lash called to him.

"I told you not to thank me." He gruffly replied.

"I'm doing it anyway."

McCoy rolled his eyes, then let the door close as he left. The couple could hear the door being locked when it sealed.

"That was generous." Lash mumbled, still looking at the door.

Khan didn't say anything, only turned his head to look his wife over. "Are you alright?" He eventually asked, still scrutinizing her.

Lash turned towards Khan. _If that's not a loaded question, I don't know what is._ She thought. "I'll be fine." She replied.

His sea-colored eyes gazed directly into her moss-colored orbs. "I don't believe you." He said, reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist.

Lash forced a grin. "And I don't believe you're entirely okay with the situation either."

Khan grunted in response as he pulled her body in between his thighs. "Doesn't really matter anymore, though, does it?" He asked, lowering his lips towards hers.

"Guess not." She managed to reply before Khan's lips captured hers almost desperately.

While they kissed, they maneuvered themselves onto the bed, clothes being tugged off as they moved. And for the next few hours they had alone, Khan and Lash were finally able to reunite the way a husband and wife should be reunited after a long absence.

**00000000000000**

Early the next morning, Spock and a large team of security Officers with large weapons came to collect Lash and Khan. (The two anticipated the arrival and redressed roughly a half hour earlier.) The couple stood casually and stoically next to each other as they were put into handcuffs, then lead from the room lead by Spock and closely surrounded on all sides by security.

After reaching the ground floor and exiting the hospital (via a back door to prevent any unwanted attention), they were shoved into transports and taken away to a holding cell beneath Starfleet Headquarters. The cell reminded both Lash and Khan of the brig on the Enterprise; the oval, glass sheet being the only way in and out, a small cot just big enough for both of them to fit on off to the left, and a ledge to step up on to get to said cot. Before entering the cell, Khan's handcuffs were removed first and he was unceremoniously shoved into the cell, then Lash's handcuffs were removed and she was nudged into the cell.

_Well, if that didn't show favoritism..._Lash thought as she rubbed her wrists.

The couple looked at each other before turning to face the security Officers. The watched as the glass slid back into place, sealing them in, and glared down the Officers as they walked away.

Once the Officers were out of sight, Lash sighed and turned to sit on the ledge, elbows resting on her knees, and head hung low.

"Now we wait." She muttered.

Khan sighed as he sat down closely next to his wife, wrapping an arm loosely around her waist. Lash rested her head against his shoulder. "And now we wait." He agreed, lowly.

* * *

**A/N:**_Damnit Spock! Why'd you have to be so awkward to write?!_

_Well, there ya go! One more chapter down in the books...and only one more to go! That's right, ladies (and gents?), the next chapter will be the last one._

_Let me repeat that in all caps: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST CHAPTER! So enjoy it all while you can.  
_

_Big thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favored!_


	10. And to the End, Persisting, Safe Arrive

**A/N:** _Here it is! After a lot longer than I thought it would take, I give you the last chapter to _Hazard in the Glorious Enterprise_!_

_I have a good excuse for being lazy in this update, though...I think I did something to my back at a hockey practice and it hurt to sit in front of my laptop for a long time, so I had to write this in spurts. Back's feeling better, though, so I edited this all today and posted because I think you've all waited long enough. Oh, and because of this:  
_

_ To "guest" who left a review ONLY saying _"Why is Lash written as if she was 16yrs?"..._I don't know what you mean. Do you mean the way she speaks? Or how she acts? What? If you're going to leave me an anonymous review at least be specific...or sign in so I can reply to you and I don't have to waste time here.  
And I'm pretty sure in an earlier chapter I said I don't do well with flames...even though it was light, I consider it a flame because you didn't explain anything or give examples, so it doesn't help me at all. If you don't like it, don't read it; I'm not forcing you to._

_I had to get through my confusion with that review before even thinking about writing more...eventually, I just said "f**k it" and moved on._

_So now that alllll that crap is out of the way, enjoy the conclusion to Lash and Khan's story!  
(Some time jumps in this chapter as well and will be noted like this: **00000000000000**)  
_

* * *

For a week and a half, Khan and Lash were incredibly bored. Being locked up in a cell with nothing to do but quiz each other on knowledge and keep each other company didn't sit well with two impossibly intelligent beings. After a few days, Lash had asked a guard if they could at least have a few books or something to occupy their minds. The guard came back several hours later with their food and a crate of intellectual stimuli; ancient books of varying lengths and complexities, a plastic chess set with no sharp points anywhere (even the board had rounded, soft edges and corners), and a PADD set up so they could only solve puzzles were in the crate.

Once the second week of their imprisonment was up, Commander Spock paid them another visit.

Lash and Khan were engaged in a game of chess when they spotted Spock stopping in front of their cell. They glanced at each other, then stood near the glass door. Khan held his hands in fists at his sides and his feet shoulder-width apart, while Lash stood with her hands clasped in front of her and head held high.

Spock glanced at each of them before speaking. "Captain Kirk has awoken from his comatose state." He informed them. "When he is well enough to move, your trial will begin." With another silent look at each of them, Spock nodded once, then turned and left the two alone.

Once he was out of sight, Lash relaxed her stance and let out a long breath. "Fantastic." She muttered sarcastically before turning and heading back to the chess board.

Khan watched her as she moved back to the board. "There's still time." He said softly.

"Time for what?" Lash asked as she sat down on the floor and looked up at her husband.

"For you to have a separate trial." He explained.

Lash vehemently (and stubbornly) shook her head. "We've been over this numerous times before. I'm going to be sentenced the same as you, whether you like it or not."

Khan stared at her for a long time before reluctantly nodding and joining her on the floor again. As much as he loved his wife, Khan could rarely defeat her stubbornness. It was a quality that lead to many domestic disputes early in their marriage.

_**00000000000000**_

Two more days passed. It was very early in the morning, before sunrise, when a guard came to their cell.

Lash and Khan were just waking up, when the guard cleared his throat. They both tilted their heads to look at him wearily.

"Captain Kirk is healthy enough to move about." He said. "Your trial will be this afternoon."

Nothing could wake Lash up faster than hearing those words. She instantly sat up on the cot (Khan's arm, that had been around her waist, fell to her hip). She didn't dread what the outcome of the trial would be. She was more anxious to get it over with. She stood up from the cot and slowly paced the cell.

Khan slowly sat up, resigned to his fate, whatever it may be, and slid his legs over the side of the cot to watch Lash pace.

"Sit." He said sternly.

Lash heard the demand in Khan's voice and came back over to sit down next to him. They sat in silence as they waited for their armed escort.

A few hours later, Spock reappeared with a gang of security Officers. Khan and Lash stood stoically in front of the glass and did not move when the glass fell away. Two Officers approached them and slapped handcuffs on their wrists. They were then pushed out of the cell and urged to march behind Spock as he lead them to their sentencing.

Lash and Khan were put on transportation and taken to Starfleet Headquarters. They were marched down hallways and into a large, circular chamber with stadium seating. The seats, however, were empty with the exception of a small group of people sitting near the bottom: crew from the Enterprise, including Kirk.

Standing side by side in front of the newly appointed Admiral (and Starfleet Officers), they listened as their list of crimes were read off. The Admiral then allowed them to give their sides of the story, starting from when they were woken up by Marcus. Khan spoke first, relaying his accounts unemotionally. Lash then spoke; she spoke flatly, but her emotions were clear on her face. The Admiral asked if anyone from the Enterprise would speak either for or against the couple. Kirk slowly stood with the help of McCoy. Lash and Khan turned sideways to watch Kirk recount the experience from his point of view. When he finished, he gazed at the couple before returning his glance to the Admiral.

"May I make a suggestion, sir?" He asked.

"You may." The Admiral acknowledged.

"Before you come to your ultimate decision on what to do with the Singhs, which I could make the assumption would be death, that you consider the option of exile." Kirk paused. "Again."

The Admiral mulled the suggestion around in this mind for a moment. "And where do you suggest they be exiled to?"

Kirk shrugged. "Some other planet, probably."

The Admiral hummed in response. "Your suggestion will be discussed further. I'm calling an hour break while the counsel comes to a deserving sentence." He rose from his chair, followed by other high-ranking members of Starfleet, and exited out of a side door.

While some of the Enterprise's crew stood and moved about, two chairs were brought over for Lash and Khan to sit in. Lash sank heavily down in her chair, while Khan chose to remain standing next to her.

"What do you think they'll conclude?" Lash airily asked Khan, looking up at him.

Khan looked down at her. "I don't know." He eventually admitted.

With a sigh, Lash reached up with her cuffed hands and held onto Khan's. "Kirk did make it sound like he was on our side...at least as far as not signing our death certificates goes."

Khan jerkily nodded his head in obvious reluctant agreement.

Seeing that Khan wasn't about to sit down, Lash stood again, still holding onto his hands. She took a step towards him and leaned against his side, resting her head wearily on his shoulder. Lash released a long sigh and they waited.

The hour allotted for the recess went by extremely slow for Lash and Khan, yet it didn't seem long enough.

When Lash saw the side door open, she lifted her head off of Khan's shoulder, watching as the counsel filed back in and retook their seats. She did not release Khan's hands as she listened to the crew behind her retake their own seats.

When the chamber was silent, the Admiral spoke.

"Khan Noonien Singh and Lash Singh. After much debate, this counsel has come to an agreement on your sentencing." He began sternly. "Our original conclusion was that you were both to be sentenced to death. However, we have also taken into consideration your own stories and that of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise."

At this, Lash squeezed Khan's hands and did not let up; she hoped beyond all hope that their lives, and those of their crew, would be spared.

"We have come to the conclusion that you both did what you had to do to keep the other safe, as any loving husband and wife would do. If Admiral Marcus were still alive, he would be sentenced as well, for what he was doing behind Starfleet's proverbial back and for misleading you. So for one year, you are both to be imprisoned within Starfleet. You will continue to share the cell you have been occupying for the last two weeks. When the year is up, you are both being placed back in cryostasis. After forty-eight hours, you, along with the rest of your crew, will be placed in a shuttle that will take you to a planet far away from Earth. There you will be able to settle and make new lives for yourselves and your followers." He paused, looking down at the desk in front of him. "The planet will be observed closely by Starfleet, along with any communications you may have. Any step out of line could be punishable by death. Understood?" He glared directly at Khan first.

"Yes, sir." He monotonically responded.

The Admiral's glare shifted to Lash. "Yes." She said on a light sigh.

"Good." The Admiral said as he motioned for a guard standing off to the side. The guard walked over to Khan and Lash, tapping the screen of a PADD. He held the device as a three-dimensional planet popped up and slowly turned. "This is Ceti Alpha V. It is the fifth planet in the Ceti Alpha system. It is habitable, but can be inhospitable. This is where you will start your new home. Starfleet will pack supply containers in your shuttle to help you get started, but when those supplies run out, you're on your own."

Khan and Lash nodded. And Lash finally released her death grip on Khan's hands. When the guard moved away, Lash looked up at Khan and gave him a small smile. The upward twitch of his lips indicated that he returned it.

"Security. You may escort the Singhs back to their cell." The Admiral stated with a nod towards the couple.

Security Officers once again surrounded them and lead Khan and Lash out of the chamber. They were taken back to their cell, where their handcuffs were removed and they were once again locked back up.

Once security left, Lash turned to Khan and drew him into a hug, which he returned.

"Exile. I can live with that." Lash said with a small smile as she pulled her head back to look into her husband's eyes.

Khan nodded, silently agreeing. "And a year in here." He reminded.

"Yes, but at least we're together. We can plan." She released Khan and walked over to where they had the PADD stashed. She picked it up and turned back to Khan. "I can probably hack this so that we can do more with it than just puzzles. We can make lists and plans to prepare for Ceti Alpha V. I might even be able to get us schematics of the planet's surface." She smiled wider. "We'll be okay, Khan. We'll fight to the very end."

Khan searched her face, seeing all the lists of things she was already planning clearly in her eyes. He saw the logic in her ideas. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her into him. He kissed her thoroughly. "What's a year, anyway?" He said with a smirk.

"Exactly." Lash replied, kissing him again.

_**00000000000000**_

One year later saw Khan and Lash preparing to enter their cryotubes once more. Doctor McCoy oversaw their preparations.

As they were getting ready to climb into their individual tubes, Lash and Khan received one last visitor. Captain James T. Kirk strutted into the building.

"I just wanted to make sure you actually got into your tubes without hassling Bones any more than you have." He said cockily as he stood in front of them.

"You'll have no more trouble from us, Captain." Lash replied, while Khan glared at the Captain.

"Good." He chirped. "Thanks for the blood, too...I guess."

Lash nodded as Khan didn't move a muscle. Kirk nodded back.

"Right. Well. Bon voyage and all that." Kirk said as he turned and started to walk away. "Oh!" He remembered turning back. "Watch out for eels!" He called, then turned again and continued his swagger out of the building.

Khan and Lash exchanged a knowing look. After Lash hacked the PADD they were supplied in the cell, they were able to find out anything they could about the planet that would be theirs. The eels popped up as the native species and were known to be deadly. They were prepared.

McCoy then instructed Khan and Lash to enter their tubes, which they did without any backtalk...after a long kiss, that is. Right before McCoy sealed up the cryotubes, he looked at each of them.

"I hope to never see you again." He said.

"Likewise, Doctor." Khan replied.

With a sarcastic smile and nod, McCoy closed the cryotubes and set the stasis.

Forty-eight hours later, (after keeping a close, critical eye on them to make sure they didn't wake up), Khan, Lash, their crew, and supply containers were loaded onto a shuttle. After everything was strapped down and ready to depart, the shuttle was programmed and sent off into space.

Starfleet was glad to see them leave.

Once they reached their destination, the cryostasis would shut off and Lash and Khan would slowly regain consciousness. They would then awake the rest of their crew. Soon after, they would start constructing their homes to live out their days...

* * *

**A/N:** _So there you have it, folks!_

_Yeah, the end bit wasn't all that great...I'm never good with that last send off part. And I'm not entirely happy with how the new Admiral started to explain their sentence (a bit cheesy, really), but I couldn't think of a better explanation._

_Ah, and the title of this fict came from John Milton's _Paradise Lost_. It's said to have been a poem that Khan was fond of...and all of the chapter titles came from the poem as well. I explain this only because one or two of you actually let me know you understood the reference. :-P_

_And as always: thank you to all who have read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favored!  
And thanks to those who will in the future, as well!_


End file.
